Second-round matches will commence on Wednesday at the WTA Wuhan Open, with 16 scheduled encounters. This article features Coco Gauff, last week’s China Open champion, and Barbora Krejcikova, the 2024 Wimbledon champion. As always, we here at LWOT will offer our predictions for every match on the slate for Day 3. But who will make it to the next round?
WTA Wuhan Day 3 Predictions
Lucia Bronzetti vs Xinyu Wang
Head-to-Head: First meeting
Lucia Bronzetti got into the main draw as a lucky loser and made the most of her last-minute opportunity, by defeating Ajla Tomljanovic in the first round. It has been a tough year on tour for the Italian but she will hope to get more out of her lucky break this week. Xinyu Wang won her first match at the Wuhan Open with a comfortable win over Caroline Dolehide. Wang was great at the net and should look to come in more often. Bronzetti can make it interesting but Wang is the better and sharper player currently.
Prediction: Wang in 2
Donna Vekic vs Yulia Putintseva
Head-to-Head: Vekic 4-2 Putintseva
This should be a fascinating match between these two excellent players. Interestingly, their first meeting came way back in 2013 and Donna Vekic won the first four matches in this rivalry. However, Yulia Putintseva has had the upper hand in the last two meetings and will look to close the gap further. Vekic had a tough first-round match against Elise Mertens and did well to win. Neither player has gone past the second round at the Wuhan Open in four previous appearances. Putintseva’s defense can annoy Vekic, but if Vekic can serve at a high rate and make few errors, she should win.
Prediction: Vekic in 3
Barbora Krejcikova vs Hailey Baptiste
Head-to-Head: First meeting
Barbora Krejcikova hasn’t been able to do much on hard courts lately. She lost her last two matches even though she was a big favourite. Krejcikova is the seventh seed this week and making her Wuhan Open debut. Hailey Baptiste has won her first-round match for a fourth consecutive tournament but fell short in the second round of the previous three. She has more than a chance here against an out-of-form Krejcikova and I think she can do it.
Prediction: Baptiste in 3
Coco Gauff vs Viktoriya Tomova
Head-to-Head: First meeting
Coco Gauff played one of her best matches of the year against Karolina Muchova to clinch the China Open title in Beijing last week. She will look to make a winning debut in Wuhan and has a favorable opening-round match against Viktoriya Tomova, who saved four match points in her fantastic victory over Ashlyn Krueger in the first round. She was slightly more consistent than her opponent in big points, and that was the difference. However, Gauff’s level is much higher and she won’t miss any opportunities to hurt Tomova.
Prediction: Gauff in 2
Main Photo Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
