{"id":27275,"date":"2020-08-31T14:06:22","date_gmt":"2020-08-31T18:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/?p=27275"},"modified":"2021-04-08T21:07:25","modified_gmt":"2021-04-09T01:07:25","slug":"us-open-day-2-womens-predictions-clijsters-alexandrova","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2020\/08\/31\/us-open-day-2-womens-predictions-clijsters-alexandrova\/","title":{"rendered":"US Open Day 2 Women&#8217;s Predictions Including Kim Clijsters vs Ekaterina Alexandrova"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The US Open finishes its first round wrap up on Tuesday. We at LWOT are predicting as many of the matches as we can. In fact, we&#8217;re predicting 28 of the day&#8217;s 32 scheduled matches. Each set of predictions looks at four matches. That means that we have six more sets in addition to this one. One features <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2020\/08\/31\/us-open-womens-day-2-predictions-swiatek-kudermetova\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Iga Swiatek vs Veronika Kudermetova<\/a>, another headlines <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2020\/08\/31\/us-open-womens-day-2-predictions-anisimova-tomova\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amanda Anisimova vs Viktoriya Tomova<\/a>, the next features <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2020\/08\/31\/us-open-womens-day-2-predictions-venus-williams-muchova\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Venus Williams vs Karolina Muchova<\/a>, one looks at <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2020\/08\/31\/us-open-womens-day-2-predictions-serena-williams-ahn\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Serena Williams vs Kristie Ahn<\/a>, another headlines <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2020\/08\/31\/us-open-womens-day-2-predictions-azarenka-haas\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Victoria Azarenka vs Barbara Haas<\/a>, and the last features <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2020\/08\/31\/us-open-womens-day-2-predictions-konta-watson\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Johanna Konta vs Heather Watson<\/a>. Predicting this set of matches are Tracey Essex, Jim Smith, and Damian Kust.<\/p>\n<h2>US Open Day 2 Women&#8217;s Predictions<\/h2>\n<h4><strong>Sofia Kenin vs Yanina Wickmayer<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><em>Tracey:<\/em><br \/>\nIn spite of a disappointing first round exit at &#8220;Cincinnati,&#8221; Kenin should be considered a serious contender for the second Slam of 2020. The current <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2020\/02\/01\/sofia-kenin-wins-maiden-grand-slam-title-at-australian-open\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Australian Open champion<\/a> has an uncanny ability to mine the deficiencies of a previous match and come back stronger. The #2 seed has excellent court coverage, shot variety and tremendous fight. She\u2019s matured as a player, capable of winning any match. The Kenin weapons will be more than Wickmayer can counter.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Kenin in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Jim:<\/em><br \/>\nIt\u2019s hard to know quite what to make of Kenin\u2019s shock loss to Alize Cornet at the Western &#038; Southern Open. But one suspects that being caught cold after over five months had something to do with it. With one match now under her belt, even if it was a fairly one-sided loss, expect an improvement from the second seed.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Kenin in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Damian:<\/em><br \/>\nSofia Kenin is not fully over her first Grand Slam hangover. While I don\u2019t see the American as a contender for the whole tournament, what we\u2019ve seen of her in WorldTeamTennis exhibitions suggests she should still defeat Yanina Wickmayer. But her troubles will start very, very soon.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Kenin in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"8x296vPIQCJVzN_kjb0mmg\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1207087617\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'8x296vPIQCJVzN_kjb0mmg',sig:'WmMC8SapUp37V9DeXjIoKdoD-n49QLcG6eRPjWIzOwk=',w:'594px',h:'402px',items:'1207087617',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Ons Jabeur vs Katarzyna Kawa<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><em>Tracey:<\/em><br \/>\nOns Jabeur is coming into the US Open in good form. The Tunisian reached the quarterfinals at Top Seed Open and Cincinnati Masters. It was at the 2019 US Open where everything began to click for Jabeur, resulting in a climb up the rankings. Jabeur should be off the court in short order and on to the second round.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Jabeur in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Jim:<\/em><br \/>\nOns Jabeur has had some season so far. The highlight remains her battling run to the Australian Open quarterfinals, but that is far from the only success the Tunisian has enjoyed. Kawa, meanwhile, has not played competitively since the Lyon Open in late February, where she lost in the first round. Far from the ideal circumstances to be facing one of the tour\u2019s form players then.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Jabeur in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Damian:<\/em><br \/>\nKawa\u2019s ranking is built around a couple of good ITFs in early 2019 and a runner-up finish in Jurmala. However, she hasn\u2019t been even remotely close to that level since then. Jabeur is playing the best tennis of her life and will make full use of her creativity to leave the opponent stunned.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Jabeur in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"1djd9IZWSpB809asihsAyg\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1266355022\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'1djd9IZWSpB809asihsAyg',sig:'ww3kN0Nz5WjVq2TG1xCjzwHxbuGg6VVVe5cqFPq7hj0=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1266355022',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Bernarda Pera vs Zarina Diyas<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><em>Tracey:<\/em><br \/>\nThere\u2019s no easy win in sight and could really go either way. Pera and Diyas are separated by few ranking point and should offer an intriguing first round clash. Pera pushed Serena to a decider in her first round loss in Lexington. Clearly the American bring a powerful and calculated game. That should be enough to secure a spot in the second round.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Pera in 3<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Jim:<\/em><br \/>\nPera has been playing some fine tennis since the season resumed. She did miss out on what would have been a famous win over Serena Williams in the first round in Lexington, but she recovered from that to reach the second round at the Western &#038; Southern Open. Diyas, in a marked contrast, crashed out in the first round of qualifying.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Pera in 3<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Damian:<\/em><br \/>\nAfter such a break, match rhythm can make a heck of a difference. Bernarda Pera played a lot through the pandemic and looked very solid in the American warm-up events. Diyas has only played one match and disappointed in a straightforward loss to Ann Li.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Pera in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"_scyQzo-RFV61UB2N1joZA\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1267698182\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'_scyQzo-RFV61UB2N1joZA',sig:'2rqAj0pLiA5LMS_VhZnPsY9tFlgPe-b6eVPDHrNNyhg=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1267698182',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Kim Clijsters vs Ekaterina Alexandrova<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><em>Tracey:<\/em><br \/>\nKim Clijsters is returning to her first Major since 2012. You won\u2019t find the Belgian\u2019s game rusty. The competitive and talented Clijsters led WTT New York Empire to the title in July. Clijsters withdrew from the Western &#038; Southern Open with an abdominal injury. The extent of her recovery will be a key factor in her match against Alexandrova. The hard hitting Russian will test Clijsters recovery. While the unranked Clijsters is a master at absorbing pace and power, it\u2019s uncertain Clijsters can sustant Alexandrova\u2019s onslaught.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Alexandrova in 3<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Jim:<\/em><br \/>\nThis is one of the most intriguing matches of the first round in New York. 21st seed Alexandrova will understandably be the favourite, but Clijsters showed that she is not to be underestimated with solid performances in Dubai and Monterrey on her comeback from retirement. She also played well during the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2020\/07\/18\/kim-clijsters-impresses-world-teamtennis\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">World TeamTennis tournament<\/a> whilst the season was suspended. So will she be able to beat Alexandrova? Probably not, but don\u2019t be surprised if she nicks a set.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Alexandrova in 3<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Damian:<\/em><br \/>\nWe know Kim Clijsters is Grand Slam material. But is she still capable of it after all these years? Perhaps I\u2019d be more tempted to pick her if it wasn\u2019t for two things &#8211; an in-form opponent and her withdrawal from the Western &#038; Southern Open. That\u2019s a no, Kim, but I expect her to put up a fight.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Alexandrova in 3<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Main Photo from Getty.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The US Open finishes its first round wrap up on Tuesday. We at LWOT are predicting as many of the matches as we can. In fact, we&#8217;re predicting 28 of the day&#8217;s 32 scheduled matches. Each set of predictions looks at four matches. That means that we have six more sets in addition to this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1601,"featured_media":23334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,69],"tags":[2480,11982,4184,7489,1741,11981,1096,11980,1900,11979,2373,2369,8278,3616,1245,3119],"class_list":["post-27275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wta","category-predictions","tag-bernarda-pera","tag-bernarda-pera-vs-zarina-diyas-prediction","tag-ekaterina-alexandrova","tag-katarzyna-kawa","tag-kim-clijsters","tag-kim-clijsters-vs-ekaterina-alexandrova-prediction","tag-ons-jabeur","tag-ons-jabeur-vs-katarzyna-kawa-prediction","tag-sofia-kenin","tag-sofia-kenin-vs-yanina-wickmayer-prediction","tag-tennis-picks","tag-tennis-predictions","tag-us-open-day-2-predictions","tag-us-open-predictions","tag-yanina-wickmayer","tag-zarina-diyas"],"modified_by":"Ben Kerr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1601"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}