Our WTA Hamburg day 2 predictions include the likes of WTA Istanbul 2022 champion Anastasia Potapova and former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova. With the main draw littered with new or little known faces on the WTA, established tour players will must be liking their chances of lifting the trophy here. However, tennis is rarely that simple and this week should be an exciting one to say the least. With that in mind, let’s get stuck into this set of predictions.
WTA Hamburg Day 2 Predictions
Aliaksandra Sasnovich vs Nastasja Schunk
Head-to-head: First meeting
Sasnovich has been in superb form over the last twelve months and finds herself inside the top 50 in the women’s game as a result. That’s quite an achievement given she finished 2021 ranked at #107. The Belarusian is certainly a dangerous player on her day and will like her chances of a title run here. However, in Schunk she faces a talented 18 year old who looks certain to become a mainstay on the WTA Tour at the very least. The German is also playing in front of her home crowd which makes her even more dangerous. I think Schunk is due a breakout run on the tour, and this match represents the perfect opportunity for her to get that run underway.
Prediction: Schunk in 3
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Maria Carle vs Eva Lys
Head-to-head: First meeting
Both these players are relatively new to the WTA Tour. That makes this match a huge opportunity for both to make a potentially deep run in a WTA event for the first time. Both are good on clay so there is no help in picking a winner there. Nor have the pair met previously at lower levels which adds to the difficulty of calling a victor in this match. Carle has a W60 event to her name so is perhaps slightly better positioned to cope with the higher level of the main tour. For that reason I’d back the Argentine to move on in this one.
Prediction: Carle in 2
Anna Kalinskaya vs Magda Frech
Head-to-head: 1 – 0 Frech
The only meeting between these two came in 2017 and so holds little relevance in making a prediction here. Kalinskaya has been by far the better player in recent months. That fact is reflecting by her higher ranking of #73 compared to #86 for Frech. Frech is a better and more experienced clay court player which lends her an advantage here. However, I expect the Russian to find a way to move on as she is in the midst of the best season of her career by some margin and will see this tournament as a perfect opportunity to continue that momentum into the second half of the season.
Prediction: Kalinskaya in 2
Alexandra Ignatek vs Nao Hibino
Head-to-head: 2 – 0 Ignatek
Hibino featured inside the top 100 in the women’s game as recently as 2020, whereas Ignatek has not done so since 2014. That being said, the pair met on clay earlier this year and the Romanian was the comfortable victor then. Hibino probably has the higher level of the two but not by much. This match may well come down to who comes in with better form . That appears to be Hibino, who has won seven of her last ten matches. Expect a close-fought affair that could go either way, but I expect it to go the way of the Japanese star in the end.
Prediction: Hibino in 3
Barbora Krejcikova vs Suzan Lamens
Head-to-head: First meeting
Pretty easy call to make here. There’s an always the chance of an upset in tennis but Krejcikova is a far superior player to Lamens and is on her favourite surface as well. The Czech hasn’t played much this year due to injuries and is still searching for form as a result. Nonetheless, she will be confident of a good run at WTA Hamburg and should win this match comfortably enough if she can find something near here usual level of the last twelve months.
Main photo:
Prediction: Krejcikova in 2
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