The final week of preparations for Wimbledon get underway on Monday. In this piece we take a look at four of the eight matches included in our WTA Bad Homburg day 1 predictions. Headlining the day’s play is top seed Daria Kasatkina. The Russian has been in great form recently and should be one of the favourites to lift the title here. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how these four matches should pan out. As always, please feel free to comment with your own thoughts and views down below!
WTA Bad Homburg Day 1 Predictions
Ann Li vs Anna Bonda
Head-to-head: First meeting
Ann Li should be able to pull out a victory here. The young American has three grass court matches under her belt this campaign and has looked decent in each of them. By contrast, Anna Bondar is yet to play on grass and hasn’t featured in a competitive match since the French Open. She is in the midst of a career year from a tennis standpoint, but is up against an opponent with a higher ceiling in Li. This one should go the distance, but I expect the American to emerge the victor when all is said and done.
Prediction: Li in 3
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Aliaksandra Sasnovich vs Caroline Garcia
Head-to-head: 4 – 0 Garcia
Caroline Garcia has dominated this matchup and would be a clear favourite on that account under normal circumstances. However, the French star has won back-to-back matches just twice this year and is desperately short of form and consistency. The days of her in the top ten and being touted as the next big thing in women’s tennis seem miles away now. Aliaksandra Sasnovich has been in great touch recently by contrast. The Belarusian will also be missing out on Wimbledon this year, so will undoubtedly be keen to make a mark on grass away from the Grand Slam. She should take a step closer to doing exactly that here today.
Prediction: Sasnovich in 2
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Yuliya Hatouka vs Tamara Zidansek
Head-to-head: First meeting
Tamara Zidansek should win easily here. She isn’t at her most comfortable on grass but is clearly the better player here. Yuliya Hatouka sits outside the top 200 in the women’s game and has little experience at this level. Zidansek’s season hasn’t been brilliant so far and she needs to pick up points in the second half of the year if she wants to climb back up the rankings. Bad Hombug is the perfect opportunity for her to do exactly that and she should be fired up to get a win here.
Predictions: Zidansek in 2
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Daria Kasatkina vs Andrea Petkovic
Head-to-head: 1 – 0 Petkovic
This should be a cracking first round match. Kasatkina has been in great form in 2022 and looks close to the level that once saw her inside the top ten in the world. Equally, Andrea Petkovic has found some of the best tennis she has played in months and a good run here could see here back inside the top 50 in the women’s game. The German is dangerous on grass and has toppled Kasatkina on the surface before. I’m not sure she will manage to do the same again here, but she should push the Russian at the very least.
Prediction: Kasatkina in 3
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