A few first-round picks from the WTA Canadian Open in Montreal today, and there are some genuinely interesting matchups to get into. Who do you think comes through?
WTA Canadian Open Predictions
Xinyu Wang vs Daria Kasatkina
Head-to-head: Wang 2-1 Kasatkina
Wang leads this head-to-head and has been the more consistent player over the past several months, sitting comfortably inside the top 50. Kasatkina has had a rough stretch of form and dropped out of the top 60, which tells its own story about where her season has gone.
That said, Kasatkina is never easy to beat on hard courts and she can be dangerous when she's clicking, so I wouldn't expect this to be clean. Wang has the ranking, the recent momentum, and the H2H on her side, though, and that should be enough.
Prediction: Wang in 3
Oleksandra Oliynykova vs Karolina Pliskova
Head-to-head: First meeting
Pliskova is ranked lower right now but this is a surface she's built her career on and her serve alone makes her a threat in any hard-court first round. Oliynykova at 44 has had a solid year, but Pliskova's big-hitting game tends to cause problems for players who aren't comfortable being rushed, and Oliynykova can be inconsistent under that kind of pressure. Hard to see this being competitive at all.
Prediction: Pliskova in 3
Janice Tjen vs Liudmila Samsonova
Head-to-head: Tjen 0-2 Samsonova
Samsonova leads their personal rivalry 2-0 and despite sliding to 70 in the rankings, she's a player who has strung together some strong hard-court runs in recent seasons and clearly knows how to handle Tjen. The ranking gap feels a bit misleading here given how that head-to-head reads. I feel like Samsonova gets through this without too much drama, even if it goes the distance, all things considered.
Prediction: Samsonova in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Mark Willoughby/ZUMA Press Wire