Alina Korneeva and Yafan Wang both won some crazy matches in the Australian Open. The 16-year-old qualified saving a match point along the way and made the second round of the main draw, while Wang pulled off an impossible comeback against Sorana Cirstea and pushed eventual runner-up Qinwen Zheng all the way. Now they’ll face each other in Round 1 of the 2024 WTA Thailand International in Hua Hin. Who do you think will come out on top? We also predict the rest of Tuesday’s matches in a separate article.
WTA Hua Hin Day 2 Predictions
Arianne Hartono vs Tatjana Maria
Head-to-head: First meeting
Tatjana Maria is always a tough player to predict. Some players just handle her slice-and-dice game better than most, some don’t. The German has all the experience in the world but after all, every quirky playstyle just has a limit. Can Arianne Hartono control her game well enough to find her way past the tricky opponent? Generally speaking, she tends to struggle in such circumstances and can fall into some error streaks. She needs to avoid that here.
Prediction: Maria in 2
Tamara Zidansek vs Katie Volynets
Head-to-head: First meeting
Tamara Zidansek has posted solid hard court wins before despite her extreme forehand grip and she’s not as much of an underdog here as one might think. It’s hard to trust her after her first two matches of the year were absolute blowouts though. Katie Volynets isn’t the type of opponent who’ll be putting much pressure on Zidansek’s weak spots and might give her a bit of a helping hand in playing herself into form. The upset doesn’t seem out of the question.
Prediction: Zidansek in 3
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova vs Mai Hontama
Head-to-head: First meeting
Mai Hontama is always a bit of a sleeper pick in these draws with the Japanese certainly capable of making a bigger splash than she has so far, but unable to fully pull that off for now. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova is a gettable draw for her and it will feel like a bit of an opportunity. The Slovak has a lot of control over her shots though and it’s going to be interesting to see if Hontama can succeed in a matchup where she’ll need to step out of her comfort zone a bit.
Prediction: Schmiedlova in 3
Alina Korneeva vs Yafan Wang
Head-to-head: First meeting
Is Alina Korneeva quite at that super-talent tier of Mirra Andreeva? It’s tough to say yet but the Russian is getting more and more opportunities at the top of the game now. That performance to beat Sara Sorribes Tormo in Melbourne was just exquisite for a young and inexperienced player. Yafan Wang was great at the Australian Open too, so this might end up being a classic. Korneeva needs to start playing smarter again and keep her error count moderate.
Prediction: Korneeva in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
