A few picks from the first round of the WTA Open 35 de Saint-Malo today, with clear skies and temperatures climbing to a nice 71°F making for good conditions out on the clay. Three matches worth watching, and a couple of upsets potentially on the cards. Who do you think gets through?
WTA Open 35 de Saint-Malo Predictions
Leolia Jeanjean vs Talia Gibson
Head-to-head: Jeanjean 0-1 Gibson
Gibson got the only previous meeting between these two and she comes in as the higher-ranked player by a comfortable margin, sitting at 57 in the world compared to Jeanjean's 126. Jeanjean is a wildcard entry playing in front of home fans, which always adds something, but Gibson's been solid on clay and this feels like a match she controls without too much drama.
That said, crowd support can do strange things in smaller WTA events, and Jeanjean will be fired up. Still, Gibson's experience at this level should be enough.
Prediction: Gibson in 3
Elsa Jacquemot vs Bianca Vanessa Andreescu
Head-to-head: First meeting
This is the most interesting match of the three. Jacquemot is ranked just outside the top 60 and is a legitimate clay-court threat, especially on home soil in France. But Andreescu when she's healthy and motivated is a different class, and there's been signs recently that she's finding her game again after years of injury disruption. The slow conditions should drag rallies out, and that tends to suit Andreescu's ability to construct points and wait for her moment.
Jacquemot won't make it easy, and this one going three sets feels very likely.
Prediction: Andreescu in 3
Lulu Sun vs Yue Yuan
Head-to-head: First meeting
Sun had a breakout Wimbledon run last year that put her on the map, but clay is a different story and she hasn't shown the same consistency on the dirt. Yuan is ranked just five spots below her at 111, so there's not much separating them on paper, and I think Yuan's steadiness from the baseline, which has been a consistent feature of her game on slower surfaces, gives her the edge in longer rallies. Hard to see Sun pulling this one out, and Yuan should get through here, all things considered.
Prediction: Yuan in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Michele Eve Sandberg/ZUMA Press Wire