Caroline Wozniacki is the story of the week at the WTA 1000 in Montreal, coming out of retirement to beat Kimberly Birrell 6-2 6-2. Can she repeat that sort of display against the most recent Slam champion, Marketa Vondrousova? We also look at the rest of the day’s matches in two separate articles, featuring Petra Kvitova vs Camila Giorgi and Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Pliskova. Who do you think will come out on top?
WTA Montreal Day 3 Predictions
Alycia Parks vs Belinda Bencic
Head-to-head: First meeting
Alycia Parks has been a mess since taking that WTA 250 title in Lyon and her hyper-aggressive style just hasn’t worked out at all outdoors. She needs these perfect conditions to pull it off. Maybe there’s a bit of light at the end of the tunnel though with a good showing at Wimbledon and the three wins here. But making it work against someone like Belinda Bencic won’t be easy – both due to her quality and incredible ability to absorb pace.
Prediction: Bencic in 2
Anna Blinkova vs Daria Kasatkina
Head-to-head: First meeting
Daria Kasatkina ran into the same first-round opponent in both Washington and Montreal, eliminating Elise Mertens in straight sets both times. Last week she then got to face Elina Svitolina, whom she has a terrible record against (0-8 now). She should feel a bit more at home with Anna Blinkova, although she hasn’t faced her countrywoman yet. Kasatkina will get to play her smart counter-punching game here and is rightfully favored to win this one.
Prediction: Kasatkina in 2
[cta id=445 type=cta]
Aryna Sabalenka vs Petra Martic
Head-to-head: 1-1
The increased consistency of Aryna Sabalenka this year usually allows her to get through matches like this. Petra Martic is a very skillful competitor though with lots of ability to disrupt rhythm and potentially even bring the opponent forward, which the Belarusian struggles with. Martic had her opportunity against Iga Swiatek though and wasn’t able to use her repertoire when facing such a heavy ball. This doesn’t bode well for her chances versus Sabalenka either.
Prediction: Sabalenka in 2
Caroline Wozniacki vs Marketa Vondrousova
Head-to-head: First meeting
Caroline Wozniacki returns after 3.5 years of inactivity and scores a routine win. It came over of the weaker players in the draw, but being so comfortable against anyone in her first match back was impressive. Is it crazy to think she’ll have a chance here too? Let’s find out. Still quite a lot of unknowns here with Marketa Vondrousova possibly struggling in her first matches since becoming a Slam champion, which tends to happen fairly often.
Prediction: Wozniacki in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
