We've got three second-round picks from the Nottingham grass courts today, and honestly none of these feel like easy calls. Grass always throws up weird results early in the season and a few of these players are well-suited to make things uncomfortable. Let's get into it.
WTA Lexus Nottingham Open Predictions
Karolina Pliskova vs Caty McNally
Head-to-head: Pliskova 1-0 McNally
Pliskova on grass is always a name to circle. The serve is still one of the biggest weapons on this surface and she's a former Wimbledon finalist, so you can never fully write her off. That said, she's ranked 87th for a reason and hasn't been stringing results together consistently for a while now.
McNally is the higher-ranked player here and her game, all flat hitting and aggressive returning, actually translates pretty well to fast grass. Pliskova leads the head-to-head but they've only met once, so I wouldn't read too much into that. This one goes three, but McNally gets there.
Prediction: McNally in 3
Ann Li vs Taylah Preston
Head-to-head: First meeting
Preston is a young Australian who's shown some promise on grass and the surface should suit her game, so this isn't a complete mismatch. But Li is ranked nearly 100 places higher and has the experience and consistency to handle these situations, even when she's not playing her best tennis.
First meetings on grass can be unpredictable and I feel like Preston makes this competitive, probably pushing it to a third set. Li finds a way through in the end though.
Prediction: Li in 3
Talia Gibson vs Qinwen Zheng
Head-to-head: First meeting
Zheng is ranked 160th right now but that number is almost certainly distorted by injury or time away from the tour, because she was a top-10 player and Olympic champion not long ago. That said, Gibson at 66 is the higher-ranked player on paper and the Australian has shown she can be solid on grass, so this is a genuinely interesting match.
Zheng's power off both wings and her ability to hit through the court should translate well enough here and the class gap between these two at their respective bests is pretty wide. Zheng takes it in three, all things considered.
Prediction: Zheng in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Marcin Cholewinski/ZUMA Press Wire