A couple of quarter-final picks from the WTA grass event in London today, and both matches have a home crowd angle worth paying attention to. Who do you think makes the semis?
WTA The HSBC Championships - London Predictions
Elena Rybakina vs Katie Boulter
Head-to-head: Rybakina 2-0 Boulter
Boulter is one of the better grass-court players on the WTA tour and she'll have a raucous crowd behind her, but Rybakina is just a different level, and both of those previous meetings, played on faster surfaces that suited Rybakina's game, weren't particularly close. The serve and flat groundstrokes that make Rybakina so dangerous everywhere actually become harder to handle on grass, where the ball stays low and skids through, and Boulter doesn't have the return game to absorb that kind of pace.
That said, Rybakina has had some wobbles this season and Boulter is dangerous enough on this surface that I wouldn't be shocked to see her take a set. Three sets feels right here.
Prediction: Rybakina in 3
Emma Raducanu vs Kamilla Rakhimova
Head-to-head: First meeting
Raducanu on grass in London is always appointment viewing and she's been building form steadily enough this season to feel like a genuine threat this week. Hard to see Rakhimova causing serious problems here — she's a solid baseline player but grass isn't her natural habitat, and Raducanu's low, skidding ball off both wings should cause real problems on this surface.
Raducanu wins this, though knowing her history it probably won't be without a nervy moment or two, and I feel like Rakhimova nicks a set somewhere along the way, all things considered.
Prediction: Raducanu in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Marcin Cholewinski/ZUMA Press Wire