{"id":24587,"date":"2020-02-25T23:49:27","date_gmt":"2020-02-26T04:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/?p=24587"},"modified":"2020-02-26T00:31:46","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T05:31:46","slug":"wta-doha-day-4-predictions-rybakina-barty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2020\/02\/25\/wta-doha-day-4-predictions-rybakina-barty\/","title":{"rendered":"WTA Doha Day 4 Predictions \u2013 Including Elena Rybakina vs Ashleigh Barty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 3 at the WTA Qatar Total Open in Doha had its fair share of upsets. Australian Open<\/a> champion Sofia Kenin<\/a>, seeded sixth in Doha, was bounced by Ukrainian young gun Dayana Yastremska. The defending champion Elise Mertens was upended by Yulia Putintseva in a three set skirmish.<\/p>\n

Entering the Round of 16, we have predictions for all eight matches. Four are in this article, and four are in a second article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

WTA Doha Day 4 Predictions<\/h2>\n

Jelena Ostapenko vs Petra Kvitova<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Head to head: <\/strong>Ostapenko 3-3 Kvitova<\/p>\n

Jelena Ostapenko is showing the form which led a French Open championship. The aggressive shot making continues but now with an element of control. Of course, that could change at any moment. The Latvian has already reached the doubles quarterfinal and Petra Kvitova now stands in the way of a singles quarterfinal berth. In spite of getting just 52% of first serves in play, Ostapenko dropped only three games against Barbora Strycova.<\/p>\n

Petra Kvitova is an elite opponent, but this is expected to be a sterner test. The Czech started slow against Carla Suarez Navarro, dropping the first set. By the decider, Kvitova was in great touch, not yielding a single game. The Kvitova serve was finding its mark. But, a slow start against an in-form Ostapenko could be deadly. I see Ostapenko taking the head to head lead.
\nPrediction: Ostapenko in 3<\/em><\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>