The second round of the singles event will be wrapped up on Thursday at the 2023 WTA Thailand Open in Hua Hin. Top-seeded Bianca Andreescu continues her campaign against Anastasia Zakhrova. Will the Canadian be as comfortable as in her opening match with Harriet Dart? Who do you think will make the quarterfinals?
WTA Hua Hin Day 4 Predictions
Heather Watson vs Na-Lae Han
Head-to-head: First meeting
It’s a little surprising to see these two just 16 ranking spots apart, but while Heather Watson is hardly at her best right now, Na-Lae Han is coming off one of the best seasons of her career with 25K ITF titles in Monastir and Yokohama. The South Korean is pretty dangerous at the moment and has already made one upset this week, defeating Elena-Gabriela Ruse. She’s not drawing dead here, but Heather Watson should also be high on confidence after her opening-round win over Yulia Putinsteva.
Prediction: Watson in 2
Nao Hibino vs Marta Kostyuk
Head-to-head: 1-1
Marta Kostyuk still lacking a final above the ITF 80K level is definitely not something we’d expect from the Ukrainian given her talent. After a very solid start to the year (Australian Open Round 3, Adelaide quarterfinals), this looks like another opportunity for her to step up. While she was 6-7 1-3 down to En-Shuo Liang in he first match, she also won the last 11 games in a row to take the win. Nao Hibino isn’t a pushover, but I expect Kostyuk to prove superior again in the end.
Prediction: Kostyuk in 3
Dayana Yastremska vs Tatjana Maria
Head-to-head: First meeting
Tatiana Maria is coming off an ITF 40K title in Pune, where she completely destroyed the field. The quality of the opposition wasn’t comparable, but she has also kept it going against Alexandra Eala here in the opening round. Her slice-and-dice game is really tough to deal with for many slightly one-dimensional power-hitters. With Dayana Yastremska not exactly on top of her game right now, the veteran might just get to her too.
Prediction: Maria in 3
Bianca Andreescu vs Anastasia Zakharova
Head-to-head: First meeting
Bianca Andreescu only had one real dip in her opening round, surving a theoretically tricky matchup with Harriet Dart despite losing three straight games from 5-1 up in the second set. The Canadian has been up-and-down this year so far, which is best encapsulated by her Australian Open campaign (played a great match to beat Marie Bouzkova, only to waste a match point against Cristina Bucsa). She’s among the title favorites in Hua Hin this week and she should find a way to show it again. Anastasia Zakharova could be a bit outmatched if Andreescu can find a decent level.
Prediction: Andreescu in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
