Victoria Azarenka had to skip Wimbledon due to a shoulder issue, but she’s back in action at the WTA Tour event in Washington. Her first opponent in over a month will be Hailey Baptiste, who took a set off her in Chicago in 2021. Can the Belarusian get her campaign off to a good start? We also predict the rest of the matches in Washington, in a separate article.
WTA Washington Day 2 Predictions
Taylor Townsend vs Anastasia Potapova
Head-to-head: Potapova 2-0
It’s pretty surprising how Anastasia Potapova dominated Taylor Townsend in their first two meetings, especially considering one of them was on hard courts. The American maintains a solid singles level while being one of the best doubles in the sport and plays such an imposing game with very little granted to the opponent. Potapova beating her like that twice suggests she’s not too bothered by it though. Townsend also hasn’t won a singles match in over three months, but she’ll probably be more competitive here.
Prediction: Potapova in 3
McCartney Kessler vs Marie Bouzkova
Head-to-head: First meeting
It’s been a while since we’ve seen the best of Marie Bouzkova and she’ll need to find it again as she’s defending plenty of points in the North American hard court swing. She likes this part of the year though and in general, doesn’t go below a certain level. It seems like McCartney Kessler might not be ready for that sort of quality yet. She’ll probably have some decent patches, but overall against Bouzkova you have to show you possess that sustained power and aggression.
Prediction: Bouzkova in 3
Victoria Azarenka vs Hailey Baptiste
Head-to-head: Azarenka 1-0
Hailey Baptiste took a set off Victoria Azarenka in Chicago three years and has been slowly but surely making progress since, currently finding herself just inside the Top 100 in the WTA Rankings. She also qualified here, picking up wins over Australians Taylah Preston and Arina Rodionova. Azarenka is quite a step up and while a lot of time has passed since their previous match, it doesn’t really feel like Baptiste’s chances have improved that much with how sharp the former World No. 1 still is.
Prediction: Azarenka in 2
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
