We've got three first-round picks from the WTA Parma Ladies Open today, with rain threatening at 70°F and a 100% chance of precipitation hanging over the outdoor clay. None of these are straightforward, so let's get into it.
WTA Parma Ladies Open Predictions
Yue Yuan vs Mayar Sherif
Head-to-head: Yuan 2-2 Sherif
A perfectly split head-to-head makes this one genuinely difficult to call. Both players are ranked within a spot of each other and neither has been lighting up the tour lately, so there's very little separating them on paper. Sherif is the more naturally suited clay-court player and has been consistent on the surface throughout her career, but Yuan's 2-2 record in the H2H shows she's more than capable of matching her.
I think this goes three sets and in a close one Yuan just edges it out.
Prediction: Yuan in 3
Alycia Parks vs Mary Stoiana
Head-to-head: Parks 1-0 Stoiana
Parks is ranked 65 spots above Stoiana and has already beaten her, so on the surface this looks comfortable for the American. Hard to see this being competitive at all, though, given Parks has struggled badly on clay throughout her career and Stoiana is a clay-court specialist who belongs on this surface. Parks's big serve and flat groundstrokes don't translate well to slower conditions, and in a long three-setter on wet Parma clay, Stoiana's patience and consistency could wear her down completely.
Stoiana wins this one.
Prediction: Stoiana in 3
Varvara Lepchenko vs Viktorija Golubic
Head-to-head: Lepchenko 1-0 Golubic
Lepchenko holds the only H2H meeting, but she's ranked over 80 spots below Golubic and at 35 years old is well past her best days on tour. Golubic at world number 81 is the clearly better player right now, and the Swiss has always been solid on clay, comfortable in longer rallies and consistent enough from the baseline to control matches like this. That said, Lepchenko's win in their previous meeting, on an indoor hard court in very different conditions, feels like a distant memory.
Golubic gets through here without too many problems, all things considered. The conditions should suit her fine.
Prediction: Golubic in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Scott Stuart/ZUMA Press Wire