We've got three qualifying final picks from the WTA Catalonia Open in La Bisbal d'Empordà today, with temperatures around 16°C and a bit of cloud cover keeping things comfortable on the clay. All three favorites hold a ranking edge, but qualifying finals on home clay can get messy fast. Let's get into it.
WTA Catalonia Open Solgirones Predictions
Laura Pigossi vs Aran Teixido Garcia
Head-to-head: First meeting
Pigossi is ranked nearly 200 spots above Teixido Garcia, and while that kind of gap doesn't always tell the whole story on clay, it's hard to see a path for the local wildcard here. Pigossi has been grinding through the ITF and lower-tier WTA circuit all year and knows how to close out matches like this one.
That said, I think this one goes three sets. Teixido Garcia will have the crowd and won't go quietly on home soil, and Pigossi has had a few bumpy moments in best-of-three formats lately.
Prediction: Pigossi in 3
Carlota Martinez Cirez vs Ekaterina Kazionova
Head-to-head: Cirez 1-0 Kazionova
Cirez leads the head-to-head and is playing on familiar ground, which counts for something at this level. Kazionova is ranked just slightly below her and the rankings are close enough that this won't be comfortable, but Cirez has the home advantage and that prior win to lean on.
Cirez gets through, but probably not without dropping a set.
Prediction: Cirez in 3
Caroline Werner vs Ruth Roura Llaverias
Head-to-head: Werner 1-0 Llaverias
Werner is ranked about 225 places above Llaverias and has already beaten her before, so she comes in with a clear edge in both experience and quality. Hard to see this being competitive at all at the qualifying level.
Werner wins this one and probably doesn't need three sets to do it, though I feel like the slow Catalan clay, which really does seem to suit the grinders more than anyone, could drag things out a bit.
Prediction: Werner in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
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