With the dust now settling on a thrilling fortnight at Wimbledon, the WTA Tour action continues in Sicily at the WTA Palermo Open. There are ten matches on the schedule on day two and, as always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the slate, including Daria Kasatkina vs Martina Trevisan. But who will reach the second round?
WTA Palermo Day 2 Predictions
Emma Navarro vs Eva Vedder
Head-to-head: first meeting
It’s been a fine season for Emma Navarro, who comes into the WTA Palermo Open in fine form after a run to the final in Bastad. That said, she faces a potentially tough opening test against Eva Vedder, who looked sharp in the qualifying, beating Zara Darken 6-1 6-2 and Dalila Spiteri 6-2 7-6 to reach the main draw at the WTA Palermo Open. That said, there is a reason that Navarro is on the cusp of breaking into the top 50 for the first time in her career whilst Vedder has never been ranked inside the top 200. Ultimately, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that Vedder doesn’t have the quality or experience to compete at this level.
Prediction: Navarro in 2
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Elisabetta Cocciaretto vs Sara Sorribes Tormo
Head-to-head: first meeting
Sara Sorribes Tormo can be a very tough player to beat when she’s on song, particularly on the clay, but the Spaniard has slightly lost her way of late, sliding to 85th in the world. She did reach the second round at Wimbledon, but was comprehensively beaten there by Iga Swiatek, winning just two games. This won’t be an easy match to try and play her way back into form either. Elisabetta Cocciaretto is in the midst of an excellent season and the Italian fourth seed will have the crowd right behind her.
Prediction: Cocciaretto in 3
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Lucia Bronzetti vs Erika Andreeva
Head-to-head: first meeting
Erika Andreeva has, for the most, part been in her younger sister’s shadow, which cannot be an easy place to live for a professional sportsperson, but the Russian has been making steady progress and her ranking, reaching a career-high ranking of world #114 earlier this season. She has slipped to 159th since, but that is still a solid enough ranking for a 19-year-old. But this will be a tough ask for the elder Andreeva sister. The crowd at the WTA Palermo Open will surely get right behind Lucia Bronzetti and the Italian also has experience on her side.
Prediction: Bronzetti in 2
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Mia Ristic vs Dayana Yastremska
Head-to-head: first meeting
This will be a great experience for Mia Ristic. The 17-year-old Serbian could hardly be less experienced, having played only a handful of matches so far in her career and collected just $13,000 in prize money, but this might be a winnable match. Dayana Yastremska is more than good enough to win this match, but the Ukrainian is not one of the more reliable performers on the WTA Tour. Ultimately, however, against a 17-year-old ranked outside the top 400, it would be a major surprise if Yastremska lost here.
Prediction: Yastremska in 2
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Arantxa Rus vs Jasmine Paolini
Head-to-head: Rus 2-1 Paolini
This may be more one of the more entertaining matches on day two at the WTA Palermo Open. Jasmine Paolini will be the favourite however. The Italian has lost two of the three matches she has played against Arantxa Rus, but both of the matches she lost were contested five years ago and she won their most recent match two years ago in Bol. Given the direction their careers are going in currently, expect her to even the head-to-head here.
Prediction: Paolini in 2
Main photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
