Birmingham Scores – 17/24 (71%)
WTA Birmingham SF Prediction for Saturday
Day 6 – 0/1
Muguruza d. Barty in 3 sets – As is the case with many WTA match-ups, a bit of a toss-up for me! Leaning towards Muguruza’s experience…
WTA Birmingham QF Predictions for Friday
Day 5 – 0/1
Mladenovic d. Kvitova in 3 sets – Fascinated to see how Petra gets on in this one because she’s looked superb so far. Mladenovic hasn’t been as impressive but I like how she has managed to raise her level when it really matters to finish both her matches in straight sets. This will be a solid marker for Petra’s level.
Vandeweghe d. Muguruza in 3 sets – Both played well on Thursday, Vandeweghe is beginning to bring it on grass and her serve was lethal. The American always seems to relish these matches against Muguruza and has won three of their four match-ups including two on grass.
Barty d. Giorgi in 3 sets – A toss-up, both like the grass. Barty won their last match on clay in Strasbourg for the loss of three games. Imagine this one will be much closer.
WTA Birmingham QF Polls for Friday
WTA Birmingham R2 Predictions for Thursday
Day 4 – 2/4
Svitolina d. Giorgi in 3 sets – Definitely an upset alert, Giorgi is much more comfortable on grass based on previous years. I like Svitolina’s scrappiness though and she’ll get a lot of balls back and absorb pace. I like Svitolina’s willingness to be a bit more aggressive and i’m intrigued to see whether she follows on that against someone as aggressive as Giorgi.
Riske d. Muguruza in 3 sets – Surprisingly a first meeting. Once again, I liked Muguruza’s fight in her first round match. I remain a little unconvinced by her tennis although against a fearless, Kulichkova, she was on the back foot and made to look rather passive. Riske loves the grass and has history in Birmingham. I could see the upset so taking a chance with this one.
Mladenovic d. Zhang Shuai in 2 sets – Going for a tight two setter, like Mlads here and the way she’s been finishing off matches this year.
Vandeweghe d. Konta in 2 sets – Head over heart with this one, just going with instinct that Vandeweghe will take this. A big factor will be who serves better – Konta is more reliable but if Vandeweghe gets a high percentage of 1st serves in, I think she will be too strong on grass.
WTA Birmingham R2 Predictions for Wednesday
Day 3 – 2/3
Gavrilova d. Siniakova in 3 sets – Siniakova has the weapons to dominate this match-up but i’m not convinced she has the composure to pull off the win. Gavrilova won their only previous match in straight sets in Hong Kong last year.
Kvitova d. Broady in 2 sets – First time match-up, favouring Kvitova.
Strycova d. Barty in 3 sets – This should be a fun one as both like the grass. A toss-up for me.
WTA Birmingham R2 Polls
WTA Birmingham R1 Predictions for Tuesday
Day 2 – 11/11
Kvitova d. Smitkova in 2 sets – Excited to see Petra back on grass and hopefully should catch some of this match in my lunch break. Based on her level from RG, it’s hard to go against Kvitova.
Konta d. Tsurenko in 3 sets – Interesting match, Tsurenko’s been in and out this year but has looked excellent at times. I wasn’t that impressed with Konta’s level in the Nottingham final vs. Vekic but I think she will keep improving with each tournament and with more time on the grass.
Muguruza d. Kulichkova in 3 sets – Hmm just never know with Garbi! Kuclihkova’s had three matches in qualifying so I could easily see this one going the distance. Muguruza has had doubles on these courts already.
Siniakova d. Hibino in 2 sets – I think Siniakova is the stronger player but the Czech player does often find a way to make life difficult for herself!
Gavrilova d. Hsieh in 3 sets – Hsieh’s got a good game for grass and she has played a lot of matches already on this surface. Head still going with Gavrilova.
Mladenovic d. Duan in 2 sets – Duan should be good to go on the grass and she did knock out Bouchard from the first round of Wimbledon a few years back. I think if Mladenovic were able to demonstrate her versatility and variety, she’ll have enough game to prevent Duan from finding her rhythm.
Riske d. Vekic in 3 sets – A pretty quick turnaround for the Nottingham champ after two tough matches at the weekend. Both have had great runs in Brum before so this should be a good one. 50-50, edging slightly to the fresher of the pair, Riske.
Giorgi d. Vikhlyantseva in 2 sets – First-time meeting, both got a game for the grass. Giorgi had a nice, uncomplicated run through qualifying.
Barty d. Vondrousova in 3 sets – Top pick of the matches on the outside courts! Toughest one to pick a side. I haven’t seen any of Vondrousova on grass so automatically, leaning towards Barty who I love on this surface.
Vandeweghe d. McHale in 2 sets – Both missed match points in their most recent singles matches. I like McHale’s game but I think Vandeweghe on the grass will be a little more clutch and has the big weapon in her serve.
Zhang Shuai d. Linette in 3 sets – I could see this one being a long battle.
WTA Birmingham R1 Predictions for Monday
Day 1 – 2/4
Davis d. Osaka in 3 sets – Both had poor starts to the grass court season in Nottingham and are on losing streaks – Davis the last three and Osaka the last five. Intrigued to see how Osaka adjusts to the grass with more matches. Going for Davis on this occasion as I think she can absorb pace and rally well.
Strycova d. Putintseva in 2 sets – Please be amazing… Strycova has always done well in Birmingham and is by far the more competent grass court player.
Svitolina d. Watson in 3 sets – First match on grass for Svitolina against a player who has beaten her on this surface and has also played quite a few matches already on grass. I think Svitolina’s reliability and mental toughness will get her the win.
Cornet d. Broady in 3 sets – Never had Cornet down as a grass courter but she’s been solid on this surface, reaching at least the third round of Wimbledon in three of the past four years. Broady has a few matches under her belt in Manchester but i’d still take Cornet to battle through. Broady has won just two WTA tour level matches all year.
R1 Polls for Monday & Tuesday
WWW Poll
Full Draw Predictions
*To be completed once qualifying is complete*
R1
Safarova
Davis
Siniakova
Gavrilova
Mladenovic
Zhang
Cornet
Kvitova
Muguruza
Riske
Vandeweghe
Konta
Strycova
Barty
Giorgi
Svitolina
R2
Safarova
Gavrilova
Mladenovic
Kvitova
Riske
Vandeweghe
Strycova
Svitolina
QF
Gavrilova
Mladenovic
Riske
Strycova
SF
Mladenovic
Strycova
F
Mladenovic
Export taken from Tennis Draw Challenge predictions
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