A few second round picks from Birmingham today, and honestly this is a tricky set of matches to call. Grass at this stage of the tournament has a way of keeping things unpredictable, and all three of these have some genuine uncertainty to them.
WTA Lexus Birmingham Open Predictions
Nikola Bartunkova vs Gabriela Andrea Knutson
Head-to-head: Bartunkova 0-1 Knutson
That one previous meeting goes to Knutson, so she's already shown she can handle Bartunkova. But the ranking gap is real, and Bartunkova at world number 69 is a different caliber player on a surface like this. Knutson has done well to get this far at 208 in the world, and she shouldn't be underestimated.
That said, Bartunkova's variety and net game should give her the tools to control rallies on grass, and I think the better player wins here over the distance.
Prediction: Bartunkova in 3
Mananchaya Sawangkaew vs Kayla Day
Head-to-head: First meeting
Day has the ranking advantage here at 145 versus 173, and grass isn't a surface either of these players has made a name on. First meetings on grass are genuinely hard to predict because you don't know how each player has adapted their game to the conditions until you watch them play.
Sawangkaew gets the nod here and I feel like her movement and consistency from the baseline can keep her competitive long enough to outlast Day in a three-setter, all things considered.
Prediction: Sawangkaew in 3
Mika Stojsavljevic vs Elvina Kalieva
Head-to-head: First meeting
Stojsavljevic is the local wildcard story here, British and playing on home soil, and the crowd will be behind her. But Kalieva is ranked over 150 spots higher, which on a surface that tends to reward experience and clean ball-striking, and has been on tour long enough to handle that kind of atmosphere. Hard to see home support making much difference when the quality gap is this wide.
Kalieva wins this one comfortably enough.
Prediction: Kalieva in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Pro Sports Images