The top three seeds remain in contention for the WTA Hobart International title, but all will face a potentially tough challenge in the quarterfinals. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for all four quarterfinals, but who will secure their spot in the semifinals?
WTA Hobart Quarterfinal Predictions
Elise Mertens vs Arantxa Rus
Head-to-head: Mertens 2-0 Rus
Arantxa Rus had the breakout result in Hamburg last year but outside of lower-tier events on clay, her main tour prospects have never really looked all that good. Making the quarterfinals here is already pretty great for her and Elise Mertens might be a tough nut to crack. The Belgian just doesn’t throw in any poor performances, you can always expect that solid base level from her. If that’s the case, then how does the lefty Dutchwoman hurt her on a hard court?
Prediction: Mertens in 2
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Viktoriya Tomova vs Emma Navarro
Head-to-head: first meeting
While Emma Navarro’s rise to World #31 went laregely under the radar with her succeeding mostly in the high-caliber ITF events at the end of the year, she’s not wasting any time proving she can also pull it off in the top league. Semifinal in Auckland last week, now the quarterfinal here with only one loss at the hands of Coco Gauff. The American has arrived and the lucky loser Viktoriya Tomova will need to come up with something amazing to stop her.
Prediction: Navarro in 2
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Zhu Lin vs Daria Saville
Head-to-head: Saville 1-0 Zhu
The head-to-head meeting from eight years ago doesn’t seem too relevant right now, especially as Daria Saville has been struggling with injuries for some years now whereas Zhu Lin made a pretty huge leap in the rankings last year. The Australian loves playing in front of the home crowd though and while she definitely won’t be the aggressor here, she might just battle her way to a win against Zhu at the WTA Hobart International.
Prediction: Saville in 3
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Yulia Putintseva vs Yuan Yue
Head-to-head: first meeting
Yuan Yue is finally proving her potential and doing damage around the main tour level pretty consistently now. This won’t be an easy matchup though. While her forehand shotmaking is absolutely world-class, the Chinese does struggle once she’s forced to move around and isn’t that good an athlete. Yulia Putintseva loves grinding players down and this could be a matchup she finds herself comfortable with, especially with how competitive she is.
Prediction: Putintseva in 3
Main photo credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
