It’s quarterfinal day at the WTA Tennis in the Land in Cleveland. Four quarterfinal matches are on schedule, but one of them has not yet been determined following the suspension of Sloane Stephens’ match against Mirra Andreeva due to rain. Therefore, we have predictions for the three quarterfinals that are set, including an intergenerational clash between Tatjana Maria and Leylah Fernandez. Who will reach the semifinal?
WTA Cleveland Quarterfinal Predictions
Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Xinyu Wang
Head-to-head: Wang 1-0 Alexandrova
It’s been a mixed season for Alexandrova simply because she’s got so much potential to be ranked higher than 22nd. Earlier this season, the Russian was odds-on to break the world’s Top 10, something her fellow compatriots like Kasatkina and Kudermetova have at least touched at some point this season. She rose to a career-high mark of 16th, but occasional early exits contributed to her recent ranking fall. Alexandrova has lost in the first or second round in eight of her 17 tournaments this season.
One of her earliest defeats this year was inflicted by Xinyu Wang back in Indian Wells. The Chinese player is having the season of her life and is currently on a nine-match winning streak since the start of August. Wang captured a W100 Landisville over a week ago and came through qualifying in Cleveland. While Alexandrova will be determined to avenge her last defeat to Wang, this match could be on the edge and the Russian might need to dig deeper than what the odds suggest.
Prediction: Alexandrova in 3
Caroline Garcia vs Lin Zhu
Head-to-head: Garcia 1-0 Lin
When a Top 10 player signs up for a WTA 250 event just before a Grand Slam, it means there is a lot going on behind the scenes. In Garcia’s case, the idea of heading to New York on a four-match losing run was certainly playing on her mind. And given the fact that her title defense in Cincinnati ended in the first hurdle, she took the high-risk decision to try and put together some hard-court momentum.
And it looks like she is reaping the reward, with a couple of very good wins against two of WTA’s future stars. Zhu Lin, meanwhile, snapped her own four-match losing streak, beating Anna Blinkova and Julia Grabher in straight sets. The Frenchwoman still needs to clean her double faults count, but that won’t matter if her return is doing damage on the other end. Expect the top seed to cruise to her first semifinal since March.
Prediction: Garcia in 2
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Tatjana Maria vs Leylah Fernandez
Head-to-head: first meeting
This should be an interesting matchup between two players who haven’t played a lot of tennis this week to reach the last eight. Maria won her opener against Varvara Gracheva in three sets, but it was rather routine before benefitting from a walkover in the second round. Fernandez, meanwhile, was in full flight as thrashed Linda Noskova 6-0 6-2 in her opener and looked in cruise control against Clara Tauson when she bagged the first set 6-0 before the Dane retired. I’m intrigued to see how Fernandez will deal with Maria’s dextrous slices. It’s the one shot that has wreaked havoc since the Geman returned to hard courts at the end of last month. And the courts in Cleveland suit her quirky style with the ball dropping almost at knee height. Fernandez’s strengths could be limited here.
Prediction: Maria in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
