The field at the ecotrans Ladies Open is packed as eight of the Top 10 players are participating. There’s nowhere to hide in this draw, and the players must be at their best from the start. This means great matches from the first day onwards. As always, we here at LWOT will offer our predictions for every match on the slate for Day 1. But who will advance?
WTA Berlin Day 1 Predictions
Arantxa Rus vs Zeynep Sonmez
Head-to-Head: First meeting
Arantxa Rus had the best year of her career in 2023, winning her first WTA-level title in Hamburg. Her game is more suited to clay and she has not won a main draw match on grass since 2019. She comes into this match as a lucky loser. Zeynep Sonmez came through qualifying after failing to qualify at the Libema Open last week. Sonmez is new to the tour and has played only one main draw match on grass in her career but she has a winnable first-round match.
Prediction: Sonmez in 3
Anna Kalinskaya vs Nao Hibino
Head-to-Head: Kalinskaya 2-0 Hibino
Anna Kalinskaya had the best two months of her career at the start of the year but since then she has fallen off a cliff and has a win-loss record of 6-6. The good thing for her is that the clay season is over and her game style can be more effective on grass. Kalinskaya faces a familiar opponent in Nao Hibino, who came through qualifying and has little to no experience at this level on grass. This will be the first match of Kalinskaya on grass this year so, a slow start can occur but she should have enough to beat the Japanese once she finds her game.
Prediction: Kalinskaya in 3
Marketa Vondrousova vs Rebeka Masarova
Head-to-Head: Vondrousova 2-0 Masarova
Marketa Vondrousova had a good clay season which should give her confidence heading into the grass courts. Vondrousova surprised everyone last year by winning Wimbledon and she can go on a similar run here at the Berlin Open if she finds her best tennis. Rebeka Masarova is a talented player and played decent tennis on the grass last year. She is yet to win a main draw match this year since the Australian Open and it looks like she has to wait a bit more. These two met recently at the French Open where the Wimbledon champion won quite easily. Masarova has a big first serve but Vondrousova’s variety and experience should prevail in the end.
Prediction: Vondrousova in 2
Emma Navarro vs Katerina Siniakova
Head-to-Head: Navarro 2-1 Siniakova
This will be the third meeting between these two this year and the fourth overall. Emma Navarro managed to win both their hard-court matches in three sets but when they met on grass last year, it was an easy victory for Siniakova. Navarro is having a fantastic year so far and is a better player than she was last year. Siniakova rolled through her qualifying matches and has been a good player on grass over the years. This match should be very close and can go either way. I am running with the player who has already played two matches so far.
Prediction: Siniakova in 3
Daria Kasatkina vs Marta Kostyuk
Head-to-Head: Kasatkina 3-2 Kostyuk
Grass is the most successful surface for Daria Kasatkina in terms of win percentage. Despite not having a big serve, she returns well and uses her defense to steal points. Kasatkina has won her last three encounters against Marta Kostyuk and would want to start her grass season with a win. Since reaching the finals of the Stuttgart Open, Kostyuk has won just one match in her last four tournaments. The Ukrainian has the game to succeed on grass as she showed last year when she beat Maria Sakkari at Wimbledon but it’s hard to trust her in her current form.
Prediction: Kasatkina in 3
Main Photo Credit: Albert Cesare-USA TODAY Sports
