In an intriguing final, the unseeded Peyton Stearns of the USA will take on Wimbledon semifinalist and defending champion Tatjana Maria at the WTA Bogota Open. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our prediction for the final, but who will come out on top in Colombia?
WTA Bogota Final Prediction
Peyton Stearns vs Tatjana Maria
Head-to-head: first meeting
This will be the first meeting between Tatjana Maria, but there is a real gulf in experience between the pair. Maria has played over a 1000 singles matches as a professional, whilst the 21-year-old Stearns is yet to play her 200th. Maria will be playing in her third final at this level, whilst Stearns, who only turned professional in the summer of 2021, will be contesting her first. There is not much doubt then as to will have the advantage in that respect.
But both have impressed so far at the WTA Bogota Open. Maria opened her campaign with a dominant 6-1 6-4 win over Katie Scott and backed that up by beating Carolina Alvez and Nuria Brancaccio for the loss of only a handful of games. That set up a semifinal clash with Britain’s Fran Jones. Jones had been playing some excellent tennis in her own right, but was swept aside by Maria with the German recording a 6-3 6-4 to extend her winning streak in Bogota to nine matches.
Stearns, meanwhile, started her week in Bogota with a 6-3 6-1 win over Spain’s Rosa Vincens Mas, backing that up by dismissing Elena Avenesyan for the loss of just five games. Stearns then booked her place in the semifinals with a battling 6-3 2-6 6-2 win over former-French Open semifinalist Tamara Zidansek. She then impressed in rallying from a set down to beat foruth seed Kamilla Rakhimova 3-6 6-2 6-2 to reach her first tour-level final.
But as well as she has played in reaching this final, she will be the underdog here. Maria has been in exceptional form all week and clearly relishes the conditions at the WTA Bogota Open. She will also pose a very different challenge to any of Stearns’ previous opponents, with her sliced backhand one of the best in the women’s game and her willingness to come forward matched by few of her peers. A Stearns victory isn’t unthinkable, but it does look fairly unlikely.
Prediction: Maria in 2
Main photo credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
