Sofia Kenin has won just 7 of her 26 matches this year, yet had phenomenal patches of play against names like Iga Swiatek and Paula Badosa recently. She needs to start gaining points now with her San Diego and Guadalajara points dropping soon. The first round at the WTA 250 in Cleveland against Katie Volynets would be a great place to start. Who do you think will come out on top? We also predict the rest of the day’s matches, split between two articles. One features Anna Karolina Schmiedlova vs Clara Tauson and the other highlights Anastasia Potapova vs Diane Parry.
WTA Cleveland Day 1 Predictions
Anna Blinkova vs Xinyu Wang
Head-to-head: Blinkova 1-0
Anna Blinkova’s win over Elena Rybakina at the Australian Open is legendary, but the Russian has basically stopped winning matches of late and has been struggling since March. She’s a player that can put it together at any time though, even when she finds herself on a 6-match losing streak like right now. But with her current form it’s tough not to give an edge to Xinyu Wang, who performed very well here last year and made the quarterfinals out of the qualifying. She’s back as a seed now and should be dangerous.
Prediction: Wang in 3
Clara Burel vs Bernarda Pera
Head-to-head: Burel 1-0
Bernarda Pera made the semifinals the last time she played this event in 2022. The American might be known mostly for her clay-court efforts, but she’s a fine hard-courter in her own right. She’s also a lot more solid than Clara Burel who’s still trying to find the right balance in her game. While Burel defeated Pera in Strasbourg last year and neither was able to find her rhythm on this surface in Cincinnati, it’s probably the more reliable American and her heavy lefty forehand that can get the slight nod here. It’s very close though.
Prediction: Pera in 3
Sofia Kenin vs Katie Volynets
Head-to-head: 1-1
Sofia Kenin’s 7-19 record in 2024 feels extremely misleading based on some of the quality she’s still been presenting, but it’s too big a sample size to ignore it. The former Australian Open champion can still play and just hasn’t been able to maintain her high-quality patches over any extended period of time. Katie Volynets is a matchup where everything will be on Kenin’s terms and that should suit her. But who’s to say she’s going to convert it with the way she’s been playing in 2024?
Prediction: Kenin in 2
Main Photo Credit: Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports
