The WTA Rabat No. 2 seed, Anna Blinkova, might be in trouble on Monday already. In the last match on Centre Court, the Russian will take on veteran Laura Siegemund. We also predict the rest of Monday’s matches in Morocco in a separate article. Who do you think will advance?
WTA Rabat Day 2 Predictions
Kayla Day vs Zhuoxuan Bai
Head-to-head: First meeting
Kayla Day spent her last few weeks on the green clay in the States, but before that she was also getting decent results in ITF events in Switzerland. She’s got a lot more experience on this surface than Zhuoxuan Bai, who only really started playing on it last year. Her win rate has been pretty low and it feels like she’ll need a bit more time to master the terre battue. Day should capitalize on that.
Prediction: Day in 2
Peyton Stearns vs Aleksandra Krunic
Head-to-head: First meeting
This season has been a bit of a disaster for Peyton Stearns, so even the recent back-to-back quarterfinals in Saint-Malo and Parma already mean a lot. Aleksandra Krunic, on the other hand, has fallen out of the Top 500 and is desperately trying to get something going now. She looked fine in the qualifying and still has plenty of variety. If Stearns gets her act together though, she’ll blast her forehand and win.
Prediction: Stearns in 3
Nadia Podoroska vs Tatjana Maria
Head-to-head: Maria 4-2
It’s pretty surprising that this is just the second time they’ll face each other on clay, especially with Nadia Podoroska being a hardcore specialist of this surface. That match ended via retirement and so did their most recent meeting, so the head-to-head in completed matches is actually 2-2. The conditions in Rabat could allow the Argentinian to hit through the slice-and-dice game of Tatjana Maria.
Prediction: Podoroska in 3
Laura Siegemund vs Anna Blinkova
Head-to-head: Blinkova 1-0
Anna Blinkova’s clay season hasn’t been going according to plan with just one win in five matches and the retirement against Danielle Collins in Rome last week. Laura Siegemund has looked stronger and is still combining her doubles and singles careers with good results. Blinkova will need to find something very quickly here, especially as she’s facing such an experienced, smart opponent.
Prediction: Siegemund in 2
Main Photo Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
