Rabat Scores – 22 / 30 (73%)
WTA Rabat Final Prediction for Saturday
Day 6 – 1/1
Pavlyuchenkova d. Schiavone in 2 sets – A few thoughts on their previous matches are in Friday’s Set Points post. I think Pavs will be too strong on this occasion.
WTA Rabat SF Predictions for Friday
Day 5 – 2/2
Pavlyuchenkova d. Errani in 2 sets – Nice to see Errani getting back to winning ways. I like Pavs in this match-up because I think she has the game to dominate rallies on a consistent basis. She did have a wobble yesterday against Davis from a set and a break up but I was pleasantly surprised that she managed to find her game again from a break down in the decider.
Schiavone d. Lepchenko in 3 sets – Schiavone does have a back injury but her heart on court often shines through. Lepchenko is the more obvious choice but Schiavone has momentum. All three previous encounters have gone three sets including an extra-time 8-6 third set finish at the 2012 French Open.
WTA Rabat QF Predictions for Thursday
Day 4 – 2/4
Gavrilova d. Errani in 2 sets – Gavrilova has been very solid so far this week but should face her first significant test of the week vs. Errani. The Aussie has always done pretty well in this match-up and her intensity on the court always helps. Gavrilova leads the H2H, 2-0 with two three set wins.
Bellis d. Lepchenko in 3 sets – A first meeting, both have advanced to the quarters with two three set wins. Both have been a little streaky this week – I have more confidence in Bellis being a touch more secure when it counts.
Pavlyuchenkova d. Davis in 3 sets – Should be a good one, an edge to Pavs who has impressed me through her first two rounds with some dynamic tennis. Davis has only dropped six games in two matches! The pair are tied at 1-1 in their head-to-head.
Schiavone d. Maria in 2 sets – Schiavone won their only previous match, 6-1 6-1 in Rio last year. I think Schiavone will be able to handle Maria’s slices.
WTA Rabat R2 Predictions for Wednesday
Day 3 – 5/8
Riske d. Errani in 3 sets – Errani is obviously more comfortable on this surface but I think Riske has the kind of all-court game with solid groundstrokes that will continually test Errani who is still feeling her way back. The pair are tied at 1-1 in their head-to-head with Riske getting a set off Errani in clay back at the French Open two years ago.
Gavrilova d. Mertens in 2 sets – A stunning effort from Mertens to back up her run in Istanbul with a first round, come-from-behind win over Parmentier. I’ll be surprised if she has much left in the tank for this match – playing Gavrilova, on clay will require a lot of patience.
Bacsinszky d. Bellis in 2 sets – Bacsinszky returned to the tour on her favourite surface with a convincing 6-3 6-1 win over Larsson. Bellis looked to be cruising against Hibino but needed three sets to get a vital win, 7-5 in the third set. On hard court I would say it’s 50-50 but on clay, I think Bacsinszky’s court craft will be the difference.
Pavlyuchenkova d. Makarova in 3 sets – Tough match-up for a second round, Pavs leads the head-to-head, 5-3. Makarova has been playing a bit better in her last two tournaments but I think Pavs will be more confident, particularly on this surface. Pavs has won their only two previous matches on clay but neither were on outdoor red clay.
Putintseva d. Lepchenko in 3 sets – Lepchenko can be erratic but she’s got some solid groundstrokes. Poots has been up and down this year, sometimes showing patches of calmness and then exploding in other matches. I’ll give Poots the benefit of the doubt.
Schiavone d. Dabrowski in 2 sets – I read that Schiavone had some kind of back support for her first match. Still, I think this is a good match-up for her on clay and she’s riding a nice wave of confidence from Bogota.
Maria d. Shvedova in 3 sets – A toss-up, Shvedova enjoyed just her second singles win of 2017 in the first round. Maria could drive her nuts with her variety, but then again, Shvedova does have the potential to hit through when on song.
Davis d. Bondarenko in 3 sets – Davis snapped a four match losing streak with a straight sets win over Podoroska in the first round. Bondarenko is pretty streaky, can be dangerous, but i’d go for Davis to keep winning with superior consistency.
WTA Rabat R1 Predictions for Tuesday
Day 2 – 7/9
Dabrowski d. Qostal in 2 sets – Since 2013, Qostal has only ever played at the $10k in Sharm El Sheikh where her best career win was over the world #677. On paper, it looks like a cushty draw for the qualifier, Dabrowski.
Pavlyuchenkova d. Perrin in 2 sets – I’ve always been high on Pavs on clay and she’s made the quarter-finals of Roland Garros before and could have easily gone further that year. Against the world #199, Pavs shouldn’t (!) have too many problems with advancing to the second round.
Bacsinszky d. Larsson in 3 sets – An upset alert for sure since Bacsinszky hasn’t played singles since Miami due to a wrist injury. Larsson won their only previous encounter but before that, Bacsinszky had won all four of their matches in straight sets including their quarter-final in Rabat last year. Both are at their best on the clay.
Mertens d. Parmentier in 3 sets – Will depend on what Mertens has left in the tank following a superb run to the Istanbul final. Parmentier has been playing well this year so should be a good one.
Gavrilova d. Zanevska in 2 sets – Gavrilova has only won back-to-back matches once in 2017 at the Australian Open. I think she’ll have too much game for Zanevska.
Bellis d. Hibino in 2 sets – After a brillliant start to her season with a quarter-final showing in Dubai, Bellis hasn’t won a match since. This is the sort of match that i’d expect her to win and she has a win over Hibino from last year in San Antonio, 6-3 6-2.
Begu d. Maria in 2 sets – A repeat match-up from last week where Begu won, 1-6 6-1 7-5. The Romanian reached the semi-finals of Istanbul but didn’t seem to play that well. I’ll go for Begu to play a bit better this week.
Davis d. Podoroska in 2 sets – Podoroska is winning plenty of matches of late and this is the third WTA main draw that she has qualified for in 2017. Davis’s year has hit a bit of a roadblock after a brilliant start. I’d guess that Davis will get back to winning ways.
Krunic d. Shvedova in 2 sets – Shvedova has just one win in 2017 against Jelena Jankovic, a match where she saved a match point. Krunic’s results have been decent of late and she has wins under her belt from qualifying.
WTA Rabat R2 Poll for Wednesday
WTA Rabat R1 Predictions for Monday
Day 1 – 5/6
Makarova d. Wickmayer in 2 sets – Wickmayer beat Makarova at last year’s French Open and neither has been in great form this year. I thought that Makarova was playing a bit better in Stuttgart than in previous weeks and with Wickmayer having taken a month away from the tour, seemingly with a wrist injury, i’d take Makarova.
Putintseva d. Petkovic in 2 sets – After some early promise in the year, Petkovic has had some tough losses of late. The same can be said for Putintseva who has won just two completed matches since reaching a first final in St. Petersburg. Poots won easily at the French Open last year and while her form hasn’t been great lately, I still think her level has been higher than Petkovic’s. I think that Poots’s clay court tennis will be more decisive and consistent on the day.
Schiavone d. Babos in 3 sets – Very interesting match-up and a first time encounter on the tour. Schiavone arrives in Rabat on the back of a five match winning streak having won the title in Bogota on clay. Aside from a superb run to the title in Budapest, Babos’s year has been largely disappointing. Sensing a potential upset on clay here.
Cornet d. Riske in 3 sets – Riske has dropped just seven games in two previous wins over Cornet. However, this match will their first encounter on clay where Cornet has the far better record. Could be a fun one…
Lepchenko d. Flipkens in 2 sets – 1-1 in the head-to-head, not much to call between them. Lepchenko has lost her last three matches on tour but she’ll have to snap that run somewhere. Instinct with Lepchenko but really not much to go on here.
Errani d. Blinkova in 2 sets – Errani is playing a lot of tournaments which is a good indicator that she’s fit and healthy again following injuries at the start of the year. The form and confidence is still not there yet but she has won at least one match at six of her seven tournaments on the tour this year. Blinkova will be seeking her first WTA win (main draw or qualifying) on clay.
Full Draw Predictions (to be updated on Monday)
R1
Pavlyuchenkova
Makarova
S.Espinosa
Davis
Gavrilova
Mertens
Errani
Cornet
Begu
Krunic
Dabrowski
Schiavone
Putintseva
Lepchenko
Bellis
Bacsinszky
R2
Pavlyuchenkova
Davis
Gavrilova
Cornet
Begu
Schiavone
Putintseva
Bacsinszky
QF
Pavlyuchenkova
Cornet
Schiavone
Putintseva
SF
Pavlyuchenkova
Putintseva
F
Pavlyuchenkova
Export taken from Tennis Draw Challenge predictions
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