A few second-round picks from Bad Homburg today, and honestly this is a tricky slate to call. Grass has a way of scrambling the rankings and the results here could go a few different ways. Which of these do you see coming through?
WTA Bad Homburg Open Predictions
Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Mirra Andreeva
Head-to-head: Alexandrova 1-0 Andreeva
Alexandrova is genuinely one of the more underrated grass-court players on the WTA tour. Her flat, heavy ball off both wings doesn't give opponents time to settle into rallies, and on a fast surface like this she's always dangerous. She beat Andreeva in their only previous meeting, which took place on a slower indoor hard court, and I think the conditions here suit her even more than that matchup did.
Andreeva is a top-5 player and has had a strong season, but she's still finding her feet on grass and Alexandrova won't give her time to construct points the way she likes to. This one goes three sets but Alexandrova comes through.
Prediction: Alexandrova in 3
Iga Swiatek vs Emma Navarro
Head-to-head: Swiatek 2-1 Navarro
Swiatek has been working on her grass game and she's clearly improved, but it remains her weakest surface by some distance, and her recent build-up coming into Wimbledon hasn't exactly been convincing. Navarro got that win over her at last year's US Open and has shown she can handle the big moments and grass actually plays into her hands with her slice and net approach.
That said, Swiatek will make it a battle, but Navarro is the right pick here.
Prediction: Navarro in 3
Anna Kalinskaya vs Elena Gabriela Ruse
Head-to-head: Kalinskaya 1-1 Ruse
Kalinskaya has the ranking advantage by a wide margin but she's had an injury-interrupted season and hasn't looked like herself lately. Ruse, on the other hand, is a big, physical hitter who can cause real problems on grass when she's swinging freely. Hard to see the ranking gap meaning much at all given where both players currently are.
Ruse in three sets. The conditions should suit her well enough, all things considered.
Prediction: Ruse in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Marcin Cholewinski/ZUMA Press Wire