Cincinnati Open 2024 Day 3: Women's singles predictions ft. Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Day 3 of the Cincinnati Open 2024 will see the end of first-round matches. 16th seed Donna Vekic has been the biggest casualty so far, going down to qualifier Ashlyn Krueger in three sets on Tuesday.
Vekic recently bagged the silver medal at the Paris Olympics and reached the Wimbledon semifinals, so it was quite a surprise. Former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu was another big name to tumble out in the first round as she lost to lucky loser Elina Avanesyan in straight sets.
Karolina Pliskova, Daria Kasatkina, and Yulia Putintseva were among some of the first-round victors. As more players seek to join them in the second round, here's a look at the predictions for some of the singles matches set for Day 3 of the Cincinnati Open:
#1 - Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Haddad Maia has had a rather average season so far, with an even 20-20 record. She has a 9-10 record on hardcourts, and her best result on the surface has been a semifinal finish at the Abu Dhabi Open. She bowed out in the second round of last week's Canadian Open.
Pavlyuchenkova has amassed a 22-17 record this season. She reached the semifinals of the Qatar Open, a WTA 1000 event, and the fourth round of the Indian Wells Open. However, since her exit from the latter tournament, she hasn't won back-to-back matches.
Pavlyuchenkova has a 3-0 winning record against Haddad Maia and has beaten her twice this year. She won their duel at Indian Wells in three sets and eased past her in straight sets in Adelaide.
The Russian made the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open on her debut back in 2010. She has since reached another couple of quarterfinals. Haddad Maia, meanwhile, has only one win from three appearances here. Given Pavlyuchenkova's record at the venue and against the Brazilian, she will have the edge in this encounter despite her shaky form.
Predicted winner: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
#2 - Anna Kalinskaya vs Katerina Siniakova
Kalinskaya's breakthrough season has seen her reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, finals in Dubai and Berlin, and the fourth round of Wimbledon. She also cracked the top 20 of the WTA rankings.
Most of Siniakova's success this year has come in doubles, winning the French Open and Wimbledon. She also won the gold medal in mixed doubles at the Paris Olympics.
Kalinskaya won their only main draw encounter at last year's US Open in straight sets. However, she retired from her third-round match against Amanda Anisimova at last week's Canadian Open. Unless she hasn't recovered from that setback, she should be able to make a winning start to her Cincinnati Open campaign.
Predicted winner: Anna Kalinskaya
#3 - Victoria Azarenka vs Lucia Bronzetti
Azarenka was initially set to face Anisimova in the first round of the Cincinnati Open. However, the latter withdrew from the tournament citing fatigue as she made the final of the Canadian Open as a qualifier.
Bronzetti lost to Lulu Sun 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the qualifying rounds of the Cincinnati Open. She then got a second shot as a lucky loser and sealed her spot in the main draw.
Azarenka is a two-time Cincinnati Open champion, winning the title in 2013 and 2020 over Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka in the finals. Bronzetti has a 2-11 record against top-20 players in her career. While the Belarusian has been a little streaky this year, she should be able to take down the Italian with ease.
Predicted winner: Victoria Azarenka
#4 - Diana Shnaider vs Zhang Shuai
Shnaider has won three titles this season, one on each surface. She reached her first WTA 1000 semifinal at last week's Canadian Open and made her top 20 debut in the WTA rankings as a result. She will now make her main draw debut at the Cincinnati Open.
Zhang's last singles win was in January 2023. She didn't win a match for the rest of the season before calling it a time in August due to an injury. She returned to the tour this year and has lost all five of her singles matches thus far.
Zhang is currently on a 21-match losing streak, the longest in the Open Era. Given her rather poor form, anything other than a routine win in Shnaider's favor would be quite a surprise.
Predicted winner: Diana Shnaider