WTA Wuhan Day 2 Predictions Including Iga Swiatek vs Marie Bouzkova

It promises to be another entertaining day of tennis at the WTA Wuhan Open with a number of star names set to take to the court in China. As ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the slate, including Naomi Osaka vs Leylah Fernandez, Emma Raducanu vs Ann Li, and Emma Navarro vs Zhang Shuai. But who will advance?

WTA Wuhan Day 2 Predictions

Anastasia Zakharova vs Sofia Kenin

Head-to-head: first meeting

Sofia Kenin still seems to be a shadow of the player who was contesting big matches at the Majors (including winning a final at the Australian Open) but the fundamentals of her game are still in place – it is the execution that has let her down. That’s why she beat Polina Kudermetova comfortably enough in the first round last week before being dismissed by Jasmine Paolini in the second round.

Anastasia Zakharova is probably more at the level of a Kudermetova than a Paolini but the 23-year-old Russian did look sharp in coming through the qualifying with wins over Alycia Parks and Bianca Andreescu. The win over Andreescu, in particular, is encouraging heading into this match. But Kenin’s experience and quality should mean she has enough to get past Zakharova.

Rebecca Sramkova vs Anna Kalinskaya

Head-to-head: first meeting

On the face of it, there isn’t a huge amount in this match – but Anna Kalinskaya is the higher-ranked player for a reason. Admittedly, the Russian isn’t in particularly good form, having been out of action after a third-round loss at the US Open until last week in Beijing where she was beaten in her opener by Camila Osorio. Rebecca Sramkova, however, isn’t in any kind of form herself and has not won a match since reaching the quarterfinals in Monterrey in late August. If Kalinskaya can play her best tennis or something close to it, the Russian should have the beating of Sramkova.

Marie Bouzkova vs Iga Swiatek

Head-to-head: Swiatek 1-0 Bouzkova

A harsh critic might judge Marie Bouzkova for having slightly underperformed so far given her considerable talent. This, however, is probably a challenge too far for the Czech, even if she is at her best. Iga Swiatek can be vulnerable to the biggest hitters on hard courts, but that is not Bouzkova’s game and it is hard to see her having much joy trying to outlast the Pole or outmanoeuvre her from the baseline.

Swiatek wasn’t at her best last time out in Beijing but she still played solidly enough in reaching the third round in challenging conditions. The heat and humidity will be a test for Swiatek again at the WTA Wuhan Open, but her greater ability to step in and dictate probably means that she will be able to turn the conditions to her advantage.

Prediction: Swiatek in 2