Danielle Collins was impressive qualifying and making the second round in Abu Dhabi last week, now she’ll be trying to do the same at the WTA 1000 in Doha. The 2024 Qatar TotalEnergies Open kicks off with plenty of stellar contests like her match against 13th seed Veronika Kudermetova. We at LWOT also have predictions for the other matches on day 1 in Doha, including Ashlyn Krueger vs Paula Badosa and Emma Navarro vs Jasmine Paolini. Who do you think will advance?
WTA Doha Day 1 Predictions
Sorana Cirstea vs Sloane Stephens
Head-to-head: 1-1
Sorana Cirstea earned her first wins of the season last week in Abu Dhabi, managing to take down Caroline Garcia and Maria Sakkari. The Romanian then couldn’t threaten Daria Kasatkina, but this gives her pretty nice match rhythm for the event in Doha. On the other side of the net is the very unpredictable Sloane Stephens, who’s still capable but doesn’t deliver her best stuff with any frequency. The couple of wins Cirstea picked up in Abu Dhabi might prove essential in helping her be the more confident player here.
Prediction: Cirstea in 3
Lesia Tsurenko vs Zeynep Sonmez
Head-to-head: First meeting
Lesia Tsurenko won just one game in her last two matches, but players like Aryna Sabalenka or Liudmila Samsonova have been an absolute nightmare for her recently. The veteran still breaks serve about 50% of the time though and beats most opponents she’s supposed to, especially those who can’t overpower her. It’s a nice opportunity for Zeynep Sonmez, but it will take a lot out of her to play with the sort of aggression she’ll need in this matchup, it’s not really in her comfort zone.
Prediction: Tsurenko in 2
Veronika Kudermetova vs Danielle Collins
Head-to-head: Kudermetova 2-0
Danielle Collins has been looking really solid the past three weeks or so. She announced that she’s probably retiring at the end of this year and suddenly picked up her game. It should grant her the best chance she’s had to defeat Veronika Kudermetova, particularly as the Russian is just completely out of form right now with a 2-4 win/loss record this year. Collins has played a lot of tennis recently, but if the body holds up she’s doing a lot better than Kudermetova at the moment.
Prediction: Collins in 3
Main Photo Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
