Day three at the WTA Seoul Open should see plenty of entertaining tennis for the fans in South Korea, with four second-round matches of real quality on the slate. As always, we here at LWOT are offering our predictions for every match on the schedule, but who will reach the quarterfinals?
WTA Seoul Day 3 Predictions
Claire Liu vs Arantxa Rus
Head-to-head: Rus 2-0 Liu
The American Claire Liu has not had a good time so far on the Asian Swing, suffering a number of aarly losses, and not even qualifying for the China Open, with injury forcing her to withdraw after a straightforward win over the fifth qualifying seed Bernarda Pera in which she dropped just two game. Arantxa Rus has also struggled so far, but got back to winning ways in the first round, easing past past home hope Han Na-lae to set up a third meeting with Liu. Rus, having won their first two matches, will surely head into this match with real confidence.
Prediction: Rus in 2
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Kaja Juvan vs Yuan Yue
Head-to-head: first meeting
Kaja Juvan took out eighth seed Katie Boulter in the first round. Although a straight sets match, it was actually closer than the score suggested. Juvan needs to be careful of the “seed bounce” in this next round. Backing up the defeat of a seed is not often easy and China’s Yue Yuan will be eager to reach her first quarterfinal of the Asian Swing, having not gone further than the second round so far. This won’t be an easy task for either player, but Juvan has that much more experience and probably the higher level.
Prediction: Juvan in 3
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Kathinka von Deichmann vs Polina Kudermetova
Head-to-head: first meeting
After a slow start, Kathinka von Deichmann was in control for the second half of her first-round match against Irina Kromacheva, dominating the final set when the Russian withdrew with an injury. The Liechtensteiner mostly plays on the ITF Circuit so this is a big step up for her. Polina Kudermetova, meanwhile, took out the sixth seed Alycia Parks in the first round and, in what is probably a slightly unusual experience, is the higher ranked player. The Russian, still just 20 and seemingly with a bright future ahead, should have the edge here.
Prediction: Kudermetova in 2
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Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Yanina Wickmayer
Head-to-head: first meeting
Ekaterina Alexandrova is the third seed in Seoul and strolled through her first-round match, dismissing Japan’s Mai Hontama. The Russian has had up and down performances over the Asian swing so far, a quarter final berth the best she managed. Yanina Wickmayer was unable to qualify for the China Open, but has direct entry here and took advantage to beat Liang En-shuo. The Belgian fought hard for the first-round win and might just have the beating of the somewhat inconsistent Alexandrova.
Prediction: Wickmayer in 3
Main photo credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
