WTA Parma day 1 gets under way on Monday, with five matches scheduled throughout the day. Tournament top seed Maria Sakkari will be hoping to find some form in this event as her season has gone badly wayward in recent months. The Greek star finds herself on the outside looking in as far as the WTA Finals are concerned. However, she remains the favourite to lift the trophy here. The likes of Sloane Stephens and Martina Trevisan will likely have something to say about that though. With that in mind, let’s dive into our only set of WTA Parma day 1 predictions.
WTA Parma Day 1 Predictions
Sara Errani vs Lauren Davis
Head-to-head: 3 – 1 Errani
Sara Errani has put in the hard yards to claw her way back to the cusp of the top 100 at the age of 35. The Italian is always dangerous on clay and will be a real test for anyone she comes up against this week. She faces a similarly effective mover and counterpuncher here in Lauren Davis. The American doesn’t excel on clay and has lost three of the four previous meetings between these two. Granted they haven’t met since 2015, but both seem to be playing at relatively similar levels at the moment. Given that, Errani has the edge as she is a better red dirt player.
Prediction: Errani in 2
Ana Bogdan vs Laura Pigossi
Head-to-head: 1 – 0 Bogdan
This shouldn’t be much of a contest really. Ana Bogdan is having a career year on the WTA Tour. The Romanian Also dismantled Laura Pigossi two months ago in Warsaw. The Brazilian has had a great year in her own right and may well sneak into the top 100 at year end for the first time in her career. However, she will need to pick up results in other tournaments to achieve that as it’s hard to see her avoiding a first round exit in this one.
Prediction: Bogdan in 2
Sloane Stephens vs Magdalena Frech
Head-to-head: 1 – 0 Stephens
Sloane Stephens is clearly the better player of the two here. However, her constant roulette of good, bad and ugly tennis means Magdalena Frech stands more than an outside chance in this one. The Polish clay courter has never found a high enough level to feature on the WTA Tour consistently. She needs deep runs in smaller tournaments like this to change that narrative and may well be in luck here. Stephens inconsistency makes me very hesitant to back her so I’m giving the edge to Frech in this because consistent effort counts for something in tennis.
Prediction: Frech in 3
Anna Schmiedlova vs Reka Jani
Head-to-head:
Reka Jani is in the midst of the best year of her career, with two ITF titles to her name in 2022. The Hungarian has been in brilliant form on clay and could well be a dark horse to cause some serious upsets here in Parma. A decent run could see her inside the top 100 at the year end for the first time ever, so the motivation is certainly there. By contrast, Anna Schmiedlova has fallen off slightly after looking like she was ready to return to top 20 form earlier in the year. Schmiedlova undoubtedly has the higher ceiling of the two here. However, Jani brings form and confidence on clay to the table and that should be enough for the upset here.
Prediction: Jani in 3
Maria Sakkari vs Kateryna Baindl
Head-to-head: First meeting
I’ve championed Maria Sakkari for some time now and was certain big tournament wins would come her way soon. However, some of her old issues have crept back in to her game and she has fallen off badly in the second half of the year. The Greek has all the physical tools to dominate the women’s game, but her mental fortitude is once again questionable. She has been guilty of panicking and going for too much in important matches and has underperformed on the big stages in the second half of the year. She’s the favourite here and is at her best on clay, but she will need to resolve some of those mental demons if she is to make a serious push for a WTA Finals birth. Baindl is a good player who will push Sakkari in this match. However, I think Sakkari finds a way through in the end.
Prediction: Sakkari in 3
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