Day 3 at the WTA event in Cluj won’t feature any Top 50 players, but it should feature plenty of exciting matches between players looking to take advantage of a theoretically weaker draw than usual to make a deep run and maybe even aim for a title here in Romania.
WTA Cluj Day 3 Predictions
Lucia Bronzetti vs Dalma Galfi
Head-to-head: Bronzetti 1-1 Galfi
Bronzetti comes into this match on a five-match losing streak and she lost to Galfi earlier this year at Indian Wells too. Galfi is clearly in better form and even made the third round at the US Open, she should theoretically have the edge here and give Bronzetti her sixth consecutive loss.
Prediction: Galfi in 2
Anna Bondar vs Harriet Dart
Head-to-head: first meeting
Bondar has lost in the first round in 15 of her last 17 tournaments and all of her last eight tournaments. Dart isn’t exactly having a good season either, but both players had very straightforward first round wins and will have a great opportunity to make a rare quarterfinal appearance at WTA level. It should be a very tight match decided by small details.
Prediction: Bondar in 3
Dayana Yastremska vs Jasmine Paolini
Head-to-head: Paolini 3-1 Yastremska
Paolini might be 3-1 up in the head-to-head but Yastremska won their only meeting in 2022, indoors in Lyon. She’ll come into this match extremely motivated too after surviving a 3-6 2-5 deficit in the first round and that might just give her the slight edge in a matchup where there’s very little to pick between the two players.
Predictions: Yastremska in 2
Jule Niemeier vs Kamilla Rakhimova
Head-to-head: first meeting
Rakhimova has been on fire so far in Cluj, winning all six sets in qualifying and the first round. Niemeier, however, was also impressive in her first round and she’s been playing well in general lately, being one of only two players to take a set off Iga Swiatek at the US Open. She should be able to prevail here.
Prediction: Niemeier in 2
Magda Linette vs Xinyu Wang
Head-to-head: first meeting
Linette is the highest ranked player featured Wednesday and a very clear favorite here. Wang is having a very rough season, with a 5-17 overall record and only one win in her last eight matches while Linette is looking to break into the Top 50 and even reached the final in Chennai recently.
Prediction: Linette in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
