We wrap up the men’s and women’s second rounds on Day 4 of the US Open. That means 16 women’s matches all across the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Who will move on to Round 3? As always, our writers here at LWOT will predict all of the matches for you. We split Thursday’s matches between two articles. The other three articles feature Elina Svitolina vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Ons Jabeur vs Linda Noskova, and Jessica Pegula vs Patricia Maria Tig. Predicting this set of matches are Jack Edward, Nurein Ahmed, and Manuel Traquete.
US Open Day 4 Women’s Predictions
Marie Bouzkova vs Petra Martic
Jack:
Both of these players are capable of playing to a fantastic level, but Marie Bouzkova relies quite heavily on disrupting her opponents. Petra Martic won’t be phased on the steady hard courts of New York and will likely find the level to defeat the Czech, who is 3-9 in hard court Grand Slam matches.
Prediction: Martic in 3
Nurein:
It looks like Bouzkova’s retirement in Cincinnati last week was precautionary as the Czech was in good form in beating talented American teenager Krueger in her first-round match. She’ll frustrate Martic here with wonderful retrieval skills and force the Croat into errors.
Prediction: Bouzkova in 3
Manuel:
Nothing to choose here between two players who already played once in Monterry last year. This time it shouldn’t be so one-sided as last year, but Bouzkova should once again have the edge.
Prediction: Bouzkova in 3
Qinwen Zheng vs Kaia Kanepi
Jack:
Has Qinwen Zheng finally put together her game? All the components are there, it’s just a question of whether or not she can sustain her level throughout the entirety of a match. Either way, she should be safe against Kaia Kanepi, who won’t trouble the Chinese enough on serve to cause her much concern.
Prediction: Zheng in 2
Nurein:
Kaia Kanepi could be onto something here, at least that’s usually the case in her trips to New York. But at 38, her power is waning as is the consistency in her ground game. Qinwen Zheng is a top talent and she can be explosive too in baseline rallies. We could very well see the Estonian being outhit.
Prediction: Zheng in 2
Manuel:
Kanepi is a veteran of the circuit and can be a tough out for anyone, but Zheng has been steadily rising through the rankings and will be Top 20 or even higher very soon. It does feel like the match is on her racket, and she should be able to win with relative ease.
Prediction: Zheng in 2
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Liudmila Samsonova vs Tamara Korpatsch
Jack:
The list of Liudmila Samsonova’s matches the past 52 weeks is fluctuating to say the least. She holds a 58% winning-percentage against players ranked higher than her… and a 61% winning-percentage against those ranked lower. It’s tough to trust her but I would say her forehand is more reliable than, say, Ostapenko’s. Expect a dip but an overall win against Tamara Korpatsch.
Prediction: Samsonova in 3
Nurein:
Samsonova secured a priceless win in her opening match. We’ve seen the top seeds falling like flies at this year’s tournament in just a couple of days. And had she lost the first-set tiebreak to Claire Liu, maybe the match could have taken a different direction. She was able to rescue the situation after failing to serve out the set and prevailed routinely in the end. Tamara Korpatsch has been playing well of late and enters this year’s tournament at a career-high ranking. The German is capable of making it a close for at least a set, but Samsonova should have the match under control.
Prediction: Samsonova in 2
Manuel:
Despite only winning one game there, Samsonova had a great run to the Canada final that will certainly fill her with confidence. Korpatsch should not to be able to put up a lot of resistance here and Samosonva should progress.
Prediction: Samsonova in 2
Jessica Pegula vs Patricia Maria Tig
Jack:
I’m big on Jessica Pegula this tournament. This is her chance to break the quarterfinal curse once and for all. Patricia Maria Tig won’t get in the Montreal champion’s way.
Prediction: Pegula in 2
Nurein:
Pegula is a major force in women’s tennis right now and she’s a solid favorite to make the second week. Maria Tig doesn’t play regularly on Tour these days and it was a major shock she even managed to scale her opening match against Marino. She’s equaled her career-best run at the US Open, and I think If you gave the Romanian that result at the start of the tournament she would take it.
Prediction: Pegula in 2
Manuel:
Pegula is easily in the best moment of her career so far, the only missing piece needed being a deep Slam run where she can dream of the title. So far unable to get past the quarterfinal stage at any Slam despite great Tour results, Pegula will be desperate to finally get to the final weekend of a Slam.
Prediction: Pegula in 2
Main Photo Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports
