Emma Raducanu skipped the last month of the clay season to get ready for grass and this decision seems to have paid off. But now she’ll have to take on Berlin champion Jessica Pegula in a WTA Eastbourne match that will truly tell us what all that improvement means. The American defeated her two years ago in Cincinnati, can she do it again?<\/p>\n
Head-to-head:<\/strong> First meeting<\/p>\n Sofia Kenin won just one game in the final round of qualifying against Viktorija Golubic, but made it into the second round directly as a lucky loser. It seems like a decent opportunity for her as while Harriet Dart has gathered so much experience on grass over the years, her playstyle doesn’t actually fit the surface that well. The Brits is a great mover though and it will take a step up from Kenin to take her out. The home crowd might prove to be another asset for Dart here. [tgdcta items=”1″ id=”170476″]<\/p>\n Head-to-head:<\/strong> Mertens 4-1<\/p>\n Jasmine Paolini is 6-13 on grass in her entire career and yet to post a tour-level win. She’s done pretty okay on occasion though with a set taken off Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon and a successful qualifying campaign at this event in 2023. Perhaps this time things will go better for her as she’s clearly playing the best tennis of her career. The problem standing in her way is Elise Mertens as the Belgian has so much more grass-court experience and demolished Paolini in their last meeting. Another loss might be coming for the Roland Garros runner-up<\/a>. Head-to-head:<\/strong> Yuan 1-0<\/p>\n Yue Yuan is having a fantastic breakthrough campaign this year, including a win over Daria Kasatkina in Indian Wells. The Chinese likes fast conditions and her forehand shotmaking gets accentuated on grass, but she’s not as fluid of a mover as most other top players. Kasatkina generally performs very well on this surface and finished runner-up to Madison Keys last year. Her variery could make Yuan trip up here, both figuratively speaking and literally.
\nPrediction: Dart in 3<\/em><\/p>\nElise Mertens vs Jasmine Paolini<\/h4>\n
\nPrediction: Mertens in 2<\/em><\/p>\nDaria Kasatkina vs Yue Yuan<\/h4>\n
\nPrediction: Kasatkina in 2<\/em><\/p>\n