With 16 matches on the schedule, there should be plenty of entertaining tennis on day two at the WTA Istanbul Cup. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the schedule, including Wang Qiang vs Sara Sorribes Tormo and Magda Linette vs Yulia Putintseva. But who will book their place in the second round?
WTA Istanbul Day 2 Predictions
Julia Grabher vs Pemra Ozgen
Head-to-head: first meeting
This is a big opportunity for both players to reach the second round at a WTA International-level event. Julia Grabher arrived in Istanbul having lost her last three matches, though that run of defeats did start in a semifinal at an ITF-event in Le Havre, but she found some form in the qualifying in Turkey’s second city. The Austrian got the better of Anastasia Tikhonova and Kamila Rakhimova, both in straight sets, to secure her place in the main draw.
Pemra Ozgen, meanwhile, has found wins hard to come by this season, with the 35-year-old’s only wins so far this season coming at a W25 event in Sunderland where she made the quarterfinals. It’s hard to have much confidence in her chances here as a result. She will doubtless be determined to impress on home turf, but she simply hasn’t been playing at a level that suggests she can beat Grabher here. Expect the in-form Austrian to prove too strong.
Prediction: Grabher in 2
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Ana Konjuh vs Ana Bogdan
Head-to-head: first meeting
Ana Konjuh started her season by reaching the quarterfinals at the WTA Adelaide International, but the Croatian has struggled since then. She has lost eight of her 14 matches and has not made a quarterfinal since that run in Adelaide and her last win came in Qatar in February. That said, she has typically played well on the clay over the course of her career. The problem for her might be that Ana Bogdan is also at her best on this surface.
Bogdan has not been in particularly sparkling form herself since winning an ITF-event in Andrezieux-Boutheon, but she has been playing better tennis than Konjuh and reached the second round in similar conditions last-time out at the WTA Andalucia Open. She then came through the qualifying in Istanbul with straight-sets wins over Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez and Berfu Cengiz. Konjuh should offer more resistance, but expect Bogdan to have the edge.
Prediction: Bogdan in 3
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Marina Melnikova vs Veronika Kudermetova
Head-to-head: Kudermetova 3-1 Melnikova
Veronika Kudermetova has been playing some fine tennis of late. She reached the final in Dubai, as well as the quarterfinals in Indian Wells and the fourth round in Miami. She will now be looking to maintain that momentum during the clay-court swing. Her first test in Istanbul will be to get past her compatriot Marina Melnikova. Melnikova impressed in coming through the qualifying with straight-sets wins over Anastasia Zakharova and Donna Vekic. However, facing a player of Kudermetova’s quality is a different matter. Melnikova has been playing well enough to keep this competitive, but Kudermetova should have the beating of her here.
Prediction: Kudermetova in 2
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Nikola Bartunkova vs Anastasia Potapova
Head-to-head: first meeting
In a relatively unusual role reversal, Anastasia Potapova will step out on court in this match as the ‘seasoned’ professional up against a young challenger. The Russian is, of course, just 21-years-old herself, but her first-round opponent Nikola Bartunkova is five years younger and will be making her WTA-level debut in this match as a wildcard. It is some opportunity for the Czech, currently ranked 408th in the world.
Unfortunately, she might struggle to take advantage of it. Potapova’s career has not progressed quite as quickly as many expected, but she played well to come through the qualifying in Istanbul with wins over Dea Herdzelas and Andrea Lazaro Garcia, dropping just six games against the Spaniard. That will have given her valuable match practice on the clay. Bartunkova will surely give this match her all, but expect it to prove a challenge too far too soon for the teenager.
Prediction: Potapova in 2
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