Head-to-Head: first meeting
Diana Shnaider hasn’t been in the best form lately, but played a solid match in the second round to win in straight sets. She needs to get back on track, and a performance like that would help her confidence going into a tougher match against Ekaterina Alexandrova, who also had a straightforward win in the second round. Alexandrova just lost three games in the entire match against Ann Li and ended her four-match losing streak. If she maintains her level of ball striking, she can beat anyone.
Prediction: Alexandrova in 3
Head-to-Head: Anisimova 2-1 Putintseva
Amanda Anisimova made a strong start to the week as she handled a very tricky opponent in the second round with aplomb. Anisimova made 69% of first serves and saved all the break points. Her performance could still be better, which is bad news for Yulia Putintseva, who was handily defeated by Anisimova at this event in 2022. Putintseva is a gritty player but if Anisimova is firing, there’s not much she can do about it.
Prediction: Anisimova in 3
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Emma Navarro did extremely well to win her second round match against Hailey Baptiste in straight sets. The scoreline suggests a straightforward win for the American but it was anything but. She saved 12 break points in the match and was clutch behind her serve. Navarro has never been to the quarterfinals at this event, but she has a good opportunity to do so by beating her compatriot in the third round. Ashlyn Krueger had a tough second-round match and stayed composed to win the second set tiebreak. This should be a great match, but I am giving the edge to the higher-ranked player.
Prediction: Navarro in 3
Head-to-Head: Pegula 2-0 Tomljanovic
Jessica Pegula had an easy first-round win to start her Charleston Open campaign. Matches will get tougher from here on for the top seed, and she should be prepared to play a tough match against Ajla Tomljanovic, who had her best win of the season in the second round against Peyton Stearns. Tomljanovic came out firing in the first set and never let Stearns get back into the match. These two last met a month ago in Austin, where Tomljanovic took a set from Pegula, so I expect a great fight from the Australian again.
Prediction: Pegula in 3
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