A few second round picks from Nottingham today as the grass season starts to find its feet. All three matches look close on paper, so let's see who we think comes through.
WTA Lexus Nottingham Open Predictions
Yuliia Starodubtseva vs Emma Navarro
Head-to-head: First meeting
Navarro had a genuinely impressive 2024 on grass, reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals and showing she's one of the more natural movers on the surface on tour right now. Her low, flat ball-striking suits the conditions well and she's become so good at not panicking when rallies get scrappy on grass.
Starodubtseva is a solid player and her ranking reflects a consistent year, but there's a real gap between these two on this surface. Navarro should handle this one comfortably, all things considered, though grass has a way of making things messier than expected and a third set wouldn't shock anyone.
Prediction: Navarro in 3
Ann Li vs Kimberly Birrell
Head-to-head: Li 2-0 Birrell
Li holds the H2H and has the higher ranking, but both of those wins came on hard courts, which tells you very little here, and grass is a completely different conversation. Birrell is Australian and has spent time building her game on fast surfaces, and she actually tends to play more freely on grass than on slower courts.
I think the surface flips this one. Li can be a bit heavy-footed on grass and Birrell's flatter game should cause real problems, and this feels like one of those matches where the ranking tells you almost nothing useful.
Prediction: Birrell in 3
Caty McNally vs Antonia Ruzic
Head-to-head: First meeting
McNally is an interesting grass court player. Her serve is a genuine asset on this surface and she's comfortable at net, which matters a lot when the ball stays low and rallies stay short. That said, Ruzic has had a decent year overall but nothing in her results suggests grass is a surface she's particularly at home on.
Hard to see this being competitive at all.
Prediction: McNally in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © PI via ZUMA Press Wire