The WTA event in Doha this week features a very strong field, headlined by World #1 Iga Swiatek. This very strong field guarantees great matches right from the beginning of the week and this second day of the event is sure to deliver with several top players in action, including some former Grand Slam champions and current Top 10 players. It will even feature early matchups between Top 20 players.
WTA Doha Day 2 Predictions
Belinda Bencic vs Viktoriya Tomova
Head-to-head: Bencic 1-0 Tomova
Their one previous match was last month at the Australian Open and Bencic won very easily, dropping only three games in the process. This is on paper the most one-sided matchup of the day, with the #9 in the world facing the #100. Tomova had a good run in qualifying to make the main draw, but it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he saw a repeat of Australia here. Bencic is a clearly better and more consistent player, looks to be primed for a strong 2023 season and should be able to prevail with relative ease here.
Prediction: Bencic in 2
Karolina Pliskova vs Ekaterina Alexandrova
Head-to-head: Pliskova 3-1 Alexandrova
Pliskova bizarrely had to play qualifying despite being ranked #19 in the world, but she might just take advantage of that extra match play to gain an edge in a matchup that could hardly be even tighter: the two player are separated by just one ranking spot and are genuinely on the same level. Pliskova had the better run at the Australian Open, but she’ll be very disappointed to have lost to Linette in a match where was favored, with a golden chance to reach a Grand Slam semifinal, and will surely be looking to make amends here.
Prediction: Pliskova in 3
Petra Kvitova vs Shuai Zhang
Head-to-head: Kvitova 3-2 Zhang
The pair have faced each other five times on tour and the head-to-head is almost split. Kvitova has the bigger game and the match is theoretically on her racket, but Zhang has the solidity and consistency to pull off the win if Kvitova is not firing on all cylinders.
Prediction: Kvitova in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
