Day 3 concludes the remaining first-round matches at the WTA 250 in Rabat, Morocco. Eight matches are in store headlined by 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez. We predict all of them, split between this and a separate article. Who do you think will advance into the round of 16?
WTA Rabat Day 3 Predictions
Leylah Fernandez vs Angela Fita Boluda
Head-to-head: first meeting
Back-to-back first-round defeats in WTA 1000 tournaments in Madrid and Rome triggered Leylah Fernandez to drop down to the ITF circuit this past week in search of clay-court momentum. She attained a pair of wins in a highly competitive field in the W100 ITF in Madrid before bowing out at the hands of Sorribes Tormo. She has an absolute gift of an opening draw in Rabat where she will face Angela Fita Boluda who only got in the main draw as a lucky loser. Expect smooth sailing for the Canadian lefty.
Prediction: Fernandez in 2
Timea Babos vs Irina Khromacheva
Head-to-head: first meeting
Timea Babos makes her living on the ITF circuit these days and she is flawless in that regard. With a 20-2 record and three titles to boot, the Hungarian is enjoying life on the lower rungs of women’s tennis. But a spate of withdrawals opened up a qualifying spot for the former world #25 who did not drop a set in qualifying for the main draw. Khromacheva is a former top-100 player, but like Babos, is no longer a Tour-level campaigner and enters the main draw as a lucky loser. The Russian is not as supremely successful on the WTA’s lower tiers as Babos. So this match is firmly on the higher-ranked Babos’ racket.
Prediction: Babos in 2
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Alycia Parks vs Anastasia Tikhonova
Head-to-head: first meeting
Since beating Victoria Azarenka in Madrid, Alycia Parks has lost three matches in a row for the second time this season. Tikhonova has acclimatized to the Rabat conditions by playing two qualifying matches. But clay is not her best surface, just as much as it is not Park’s most-preferred surface either. Still, the American is too talented not to overcome her latest hurdle.
Prediction: Parks in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
