Day 3 at the WTA event in Cleveland is sure to feature plenty of high level action, including #1 seed Caroline Garcia. It is the week before the US Open and players here will be looking to fine tune their game ahead of the US Open as well as perhaps take advantage of the draw to get a rare title.
WTA Cleveland Day 3 Predictions
Tatjana Maria vs Varvara Gracheva
Head-to-head: Gracheva 1-0 Maria
This is likely to be a very tight match; the players are very close to each other in both level and ranking and when they faced each other earlier this year it was a very tight 3-set match. This should once again come down to fine details, with the player who manages to hold their nerve better in key moments prevailing.
Prediction: Maria in 3
Julia Grabher vs Lin Zhu
Head-to-head: Zhu 1-0 Grabber
This is another matchup between two players who are very close in both level and ranking and whose sole previous matchup was very tightly contested. Zhu was on a 4-match losing streak before winning her first round here while Grabher has been racking up wins, even if at a lower level, and that added confidence can very well give her the edge here.
Prediction: Grabher in 3
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Xinyu Wang vs Jasmine Paolini
Head-to-head: Paolini 1-0 Wang
Wang plays well on quicker surfaces and has looked comfortable in Cleveland thus far. Paolini is coming off a quarterfinal run in Cincinnati, but does she have the fitness to string together another deep run? This should be another very tight match and Wang might very well continue her winning streak and make an upset here.
Prediction: Wang in 3
Leylah Fernandez vs Clara Tauson
Head-to-head: Tauson 1-0 Fernandez
Tauson won this matchup this year at Roland Garros and also in the junior Australian Open final in 2019, proving to have an edge in this matchup. Fernandez had an incredible run to the US Open final two years ago but she hasn’t even come close to backing it up since and is unlikely to reproduce that sort of level here and in New York.
Prediction: Tauson in 3
Caroline Garcia vs Peyton Stearns
Head-to-head: first meeting
Despite still being ranked #7, Garcia’s season has been very disappointing so far after the high expectations generated by her very strong end of 2022. She will be desperate to turn her fortunes around ahead of the US Open and at this point she should still have too much for the young American.
Prediction: Garcia in 2
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
