All the remaining first-round matches are scheduled for Tuesday, Day 2 at the WTA Guangzhou Open. That includes surprise Osaka champion Suzan Lamens coming up against No. 2 seed Marie Bouzkova and recent WTA 1000 Beijing quarterfinalist Shuai Zhang facing Kamilla Rakhimova. Who do you think will come out on top?
WTA Guangzhou Day 2 Predictions
Lucia Bronzetti vs Elina Avanesyan
Head-to-head: Bronzetti 1-0
Elina Avanesyan posted a really good win in Osaka last week, eliminating defending champion Ashlyn Krueger in the opening round. She didn’t manage to turn that into a run though with Sara Saito handling her game so much better. The Armenian plays an interesting game with a wide variety of spins and angles off the baseline, which completely confuses some much more powerful players. This should be pretty close but Lucia Bronzetti could like this matchup as she’s not overly aggressive and reliant on hitting her combinations.
Prediction: Bronzetti in 3
Xiyu Wang vs Arantxa Rus
Head-to-head: 2-2
Xiyu Wang almost out of the Top 100 is not something we would have expected when she was winning this tournament about a year ago. The Chinese has an explosive game but the streakiness is really hampering her progress at the moment. Returning to this venue could help her find something though and at least the opening-round matchup seems pretty nice. Arantxa Rus is more of a clay specialist and in the battle of two left-handed players, she’s the one who isn’t able to flatten out her shots as effectively.
Prediction: Wang in 2
Alexandra Eala vs Bernarda Pera
Head-to-head: First meeting
Alexandra Eala was heralded as a massive junior prospect a few years ago, eventually also taking the girls’ singles title at the US Open. But the 19-year-old hasn’t been able to take the next step and apply her game as well at the professional level, at least not on the main tour. It seems like this breakthrough might not come as early as people expected and for now it’s Bernarda Pera who should be perceived as the favorite of this clash. She hasn’t been setting the world on fire, but you can’t deny her under-the-radar quality.
Prediction: Pera in 3
Suzan Lamens vs Marie Bouzkova
Head-to-head: First meeting
Suzan Lamens is coming off a great week in Osaka, losing just one set in seven matches and entering the Top 100 with her first WTA Tour title. It was relatively unexpected (especially as he was coming from the qualifying), but the way she dispatched Diane Parry and Kimberly Birrell on Sunday was so impressive. But now the question becomes if she can follow up that run right away against the No. 2 seed in Guangzhou, Marie Bouzkova. It might be that against a solid defender just two days after Osaka, Lamens is due for a letdown performance.
Prediction: Bouzkova in 2
Shuai Zhang vs Kamilla Rakhimova
Head-to-head: First meeting
That quarterfinal run in Beijing was just pure magic from Shuai Zhang. She snapped her record losing streak and ended up beating a Top 10 player in Emma Navarro, reminding everyone why she was such a force in singles back in the day. But somehow the dark days aren’t quite over for her yet and she wasn’t able to turn it into good performances in Wuhan and Ningbo. Facing Kamilla Rakhimova, she could hope for another win here. Just needs to play her confident, flat-hitting attacking game.
Prediction: Zhang in 3
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
