An entertaining final should be in store at the WTA Stuttgart Open, with world #1 Iga Swiatek set to take on Aryna Sabalenka, currently fourth in the world rankings, for the title in Germany. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our prediction. But who will come out on top?

WTA Stuttgart Final Prediction

Iga Swiatek vs Aryna Sabalenka

Head-to-head: Swiatek 1-1 Sabalenka

Swiatek has impressed so far this week. The Pole opened her campaign, after a first-round bye, with a comprehensive 6-1 6-1 win over Eva Lys, before getting the better of US Open champion Emma Raducanu, 6-4 6-4. That set up a semifinal clash with Ludmilla Samsonova, who was also having a fine week in Stuttgart. The Russian took the first set, but it was Swiatek who played the better tennis in the decisive moments, ultimately recording a 5-7 6-4 7-5 win.

Sabalenka, meanwhile, came up against Bianca Andreescu in her first match of the week. In an entertaining clash, she got the better of the Canadian, 6-1 3-6 6-2. She backed that up by beating Anett Kontaveit 6-4 3-6 6-1, extending her head-to-head advantage over the Estonian to 5-0. Sabalenka then booked her place in the final by beating Paula Badosa, delivering what was surely her most impressive performance of the week so far.

She will need to be at her best again when she faces Swiatek. Sabalenka has enough power to keep Swiatek on the backfoot, but she is not always able to harness that power effectively. Swiatek, in contrast, plays a more compact game and is more consistent from the baseline than Sabalenka because of it. She also has an excellent backhand slice which she uses adeptly to disrupt her opponents. Expect Swiatek to have just about too much for Sabalenka here.

Prediction: Swiatek in 3

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