The quarterfinal round is set at the WTA Prague Open, though not without surprises, as second seed and defending champion Barbora Krejcikova was eliminated by lucky loser Nao Hibino. As always, here at LWOT we will preview and predict each match. Who do you think will make it to the semi-finals?
WTA Prague Quarterfinal Predictions
Magda Linette vs. Wang Qiang
Head-to-head: Linette 3-2 Wang
An exciting duel between two veterans of the circuit for a place in the semifinals. Linette started the tournament with a big upset over third seed Elise Mertens and confirmed her position of strength in a straight set win over Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova. Wang has also looked strong, making it through qualifying without dropping a set before a proper test from Rebecca Peterson. The former No.12 eliminated the Swede in a third-set tiebreak and had a much easier time against fellow qualifier Dalila Jakupovic, losing just four games in the second-round victory. The two have met five times before, with all of their previous meetings played on Asian hard courts. Linette leads head-to-head, but Wang won her last two matches in 2018. This is going to be a close match, but I see Linette as a slight favorite here. However, the match could definitely go either way.
Prediction: Linette at 3
Marie Bouzkova vs. Oksana Selekhmeteva
Face to face: first meeting
Bouzkova was a heavy favorite in her first two matches. The Czech faced some adversity and struggled a bit in the second set of her first-round victory over Sinja Kraus, but she only lost three games against 18-year-old Dominika Salkova. Selekhmeteva, still ranked more than 100 places below Bouzkova, should be the most challenging opponent by far. The young Russian climbed through qualifying, including a big win over Nao Hibino, before eliminating fourth-seeded Sorana Cirstea. The 19-year-old followed up the upset with a three-set win over Chloe Paquet in the second round. Selekhmeteva will be a tough opponent, but I still see Bouzkova as the favorite here, my pick for the bottom half finalist.
Prediction: Bouzkova at 2
Nao Hibino vs. Linda Noskova
Face to face: first meeting
No matter the outcome of the quarterfinals, Hibino has already had an amazing week. The 27-year-old entered the main draw as a lucky loser after her loss to Oksana Selekhmeteva. Hibino had a second chance and took it, allowing him to Mihaela Buzarnescu only four games in the first round. The Japanese then faced defending champion and second seed Barbora Krejcikova. The Czech led 6-3 5-3, but Hibino came from behind, winning the second-set tiebreak and taking the third 6-3. The Japanese player not only scored one of the best wins of her career thus far, but now it is almost certain that she will re-enter the Top 200 after two months out of it.
Noskova, a 17-year-old now one win away from the Top 100, is also having a big tournament. The young Czech went a set and a break against Natalia Vikhlyantseva in the first round when the Russian withdrew from the match. However, Noskova scored a trademark victory in the second round, eliminating Alize Cornet. The match went all the way to the third set tiebreak which the 17-year-old won 9-7. This is going to be an interesting match between a solid, experienced player against some raw talent with the crowd behind her. They both have to recover from tough three sets, but I see Noskova winning here and making her Top 100 debut on Monday.
Prediction: Noskova at 2
Anett Kontaveit vs. Anastasia Potapova
Head-to-head: Kontaveit 2-0 Potapova
After suffering a loss in the Hamburg final last week, Kontaveit is looking to remake and his second title of the season. With Barbora Krejcikova out, the Estonian is the main favorite to leave Prague with a trophy. After a 6-0 6-1 victory over Ekaterine Gorgodze, Kontaveit had a slightly more difficult time against Junior. open french champion Lucie Havlickova, although the World No.2 remained in control throughout the match.
Potapova, who lost to Kontaveit in the Hamburg semi-finals last week, also started off with a solid win, losing just three games against Wang Xinyu. The Russian had a much more challenging second round against Zhu Lin, although she closed it out in straight sets. Zhu served for the second set at 5-4 and had two set points in the second set tiebreak, which Potapova ended up winning 10-8. Kontaveit beat Potapova in straight sets last week, though her hard-court encounter in Moscow was much closer to her, the 21-year-old pushing the Estonian to 7-5 in the third. I see Potapova as a bigger threat in this match than in Hamburg, but Kontaveit should still win here.
Prediction: Kontaveit at 2
Getty main photo.