After Monday’s action was almost entirely rained out, hopes are a bit higher for day at the WTA Den Bosch Open though we are still likely to see some morning rain in Den Bosch. Still, with up to six matches scheduled on some courts, we are bound to see some good tennis tomorrow and, as ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the schedule, including Madison Brengle vs Belinda Bencic. But who will advance?
WTA Den Bosch Day 2 Predictions
Arianne Hartono vs Taylah Preston
Head-to-head: first meeting
16-year-old Taylah Preston is set to make her WTA main draw debut here, qualifying with a win over Lucrezia Stefanini and a walkover from Raluca Georgiana Serban. Ariane Hartono, a Dutch wild card, is probably one of the easiest draws the youngster could have received. The 26-year-old has been struggling this season, unable to win back-to-back matches since she qualified for the Australian Open in January. Hartono is only playing her second-ever match on grass, pushing Ysaline Bonaventure to a third-set tiebreak in the qualifying of this event in 2019. Despite that, I see the Dutchwoman as a favorite here with how little experience Preston has under her belt.
Prediction: Hartono in 3
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Harmony Tan vs Tamara Zidansek
Head-to-head: Zidansek 1-0 Tan
Tamara Zidansek, who suffered a big ranking drop after failing to defend her Roland Garros semifinal, has not had a good season. The Slovene went 2-4 on clay, unable to take advantage on her favorite surface, and now drops out of the Top 50. Zidansek is not at her best on grass, though she did have some decent wins over Eugenie Bouchard and Carla Suarez Navarro in 2019 on the surface. Harmony Tan has endured a whole another level of struggle though, losing nine of her last eleven matches with her only wins coming over Samantha Stosur and Lauren Davis. The Frenchwoman has only played two career matches on grass, losing in the second qualifying round at last year’s Wimbledon.
Prediction: Zidansek in 2
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Alison van Uytvanck vs Tamara Korpatsch
Head-to-head: Van Uytvanck 1-0 Korpatsch
Alison Van Uytvanck is the in-form player to watch in Den Bosch. The Belgian had been struggling, an 8-10 record on the season coming into Surbiton last week. Van Uytvanck went on to take the title there, now 12-2 on grass over the past two years. Tamara Korpatsch has had a much better season overall with an 18-10 this year, including a final at the WTA 125 in Marbella. The German has nowhere near the record on grass though, winning just two matches out of nine over the past three grass seasons. Van Uytvanck also beat Korpatsch earlier in the year in Karlsruhe, further solidifying her position as a favourite.
Prediction: Van Uytvanck in 3
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Veronika Kudermetova vs Leolia Jeanjean
Head-to-head: first meeting
Veronika Kudermetova has enjoyed a very good year with three WTA finals this season in Melbourne, Dubai and Istanbul as well as a Roland Garros quarterfinal. Despite her weaker grass season last year, the Russian is among the favorites for the title here, reaching a semifinal and quarterfinal in her two previous Den Bosch appearances. Leolia Jeanjean, meanwhile, enjoyed a breakthrough run at the French Open last week, beating former No. 1 Karolina Pliskova to reach the third round in Paris.
Her story is one of resilience as a knee injury kept her out of tennis for two years at 15-years-old and she was dropped by Nike and the French federation. After playing college tennis for Lynn University in Florida, she began 2021 outside the Top 1000. Jeanjean won 52 matches that year, finishing the season inside the top 400. After Roland Garros, the Frenchwoman is now inside the top 150. Kudermetova should be the favourite here regardless, but Jeanjean is someone to watch going forward even if her rise has begun later in her career.
Prediction: Kudermetova in 2
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