We are down to the final 16 women at WTA Miami, crossing over into the second week of the event. As always, we here at LWOT will preview and predict every match. Who do you think will win?
WTA Miami Day 7 Predictions
Sorana Cirstea vs Marketa Vondrousova
Head-to-head: Cirstea 1-1 Vondrousova
Making her first appearance in the Round of 16 in Miami in a decade, Cirstea has found forming the Sunshine swing after struggling at the beginning of the season. The Romanian beat Caroline Garcia en route to the Indian Wells quarterfinals and upset the Frenchwoman again this week in the second round. Cirstea also beat Karolina Muchova to get to the second week in Miami. Vondrousova has been ruthless this week, yet to drop a set in Miami including in wins over Veronika Kudermetova and Karolina Pliskova. After splitting their previous two meetings I see Vondrousova continuing her rampage here.
Prediction: Vondrousova in 2
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Petra Kvitova vs Varvara Gracheva
Head-to-head: first meeting
Kvitova has now reached the Round of 16 or better in five straight Miami appearances, not missing out since 2018. The Czech had a good showing in Indian Wells, beating Jelena Ostapenko and Jessica Pegula to reach the quarterfinals. In Miami, Kvitova beat Linda Noskova and Donna Vekic. Gracheva has been in brilliant form recently, getting her first WTA final in Austin and now reaching the Round of 16 as a qualifier in both Indian Wells and Miami. This week, Gracheva is yet to drop a set in five matches, including a 6-2 6-2 win over Ons Jabeur. This will be an interesting match but I see the veteran winning out here.
Prediction: Kvitova in 3
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Bianca Andreescu vs Ekaterina Alexandrova
Head-to-head: first meeting
The 2021 Miami finalist is getting her season truly underway after struggling for the first two and a half months. Andreescu has strung three nice wins now, beating Emma Raducanu, Maria Sakkari, and Sofia Kenin. After winning just five games against Wang Xinyu in Indian Wells, Alexandrova battled past Taylor Townsend in three sets before upsetting Belinda Bencic. With how Andreescu is playing at the moment, she will be very hard to stop.
Prediction: Andreescu in 2
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Aryna Sabalenka vs Barbora Krejcikova
Head-to-head: Sabalenka 3-1 Krejcikova
Already the third match-up between Sabalenka and Krejcikova this season with the Czech winning a crazy 0-6 7-6 6-1 battle in Dubai and the Belarusian repaying the favor with a 6-4 in the third win in Indian Wells. After going to the final in California last week, losing to Elena Rybakina, Sabalenka has set the pace in Miami with straight-set wins over Shelby Rogers and Marie Bouzkova. Dubai champion Krejcikova only lost to Sabalenka last week and is also yet to drop a set this week in wins over Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Madison Keys. I expect an intense battle with Sabalenka winning out.
Prediction: Sabalenka in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
