We've got three first-round picks from the WTA Makarska Open today, with the weather looking a bit moody on the Croatian coast at 63°F and a 100% chance of rain, so scheduling could get complicated. Let's get into it.
WTA Makarska Open Predictions
Maria Timofeeva vs Erika Andreeva
Head-to-head: First meeting
Timofeeva is ranked nearly 110 spots above Andreeva and that gap is pretty reflective of where both players actually are right now. Andreeva is still finding her way on tour, and a first meeting against a player firmly inside the top 120 on clay is a tough ask. I think Timofeeva wins this comfortably enough, though the slow conditions could drag things into a third set if Andreeva starts finding her range from the baseline.
Prediction: Timofeeva in 3
Kajsa Rinaldo Persson vs Noma Akugue Noha
Head-to-head: Persson 0-1 Noha
Noha holds the ranking advantage and leads their only previous meeting, which makes Persson a pretty clear underdog coming in. Persson is ranked outside the top 250 and has had a rough stretch of results and Noha has enough clay-court reliability to handle this without too many problems. Hard to see this being competitive at all. Noha wins this one.
Prediction: Noha in 3
Rebecca Sramkova vs Tara Wuerth
Head-to-head: Sramkova 1-0 Wuerth
Sramkova is ranked 125th and already leads their head-to-head, while Wuerth is sitting at 315, so the gap here is real. Wuerth plays most of her tennis at the ITF level and stepping up against a player of Sramkova's caliber on clay is a big jump. That said, Sramkova hasn't been setting the tour alight recently, and the heavy conditions from the rain could make things scrappier than expected, which sometimes plays into lower-ranked players' hands. I feel like Sramkova sees this through, should still find a way to get through here, but probably not without dropping a set.
Prediction: Sramkova in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Rob Prange/AFP7 via ZUMA Press Wire