Italian Open 2024 Day 1: Women's singles predictions ft. Leylah Fernandez vs Ana Bogdan
The main draw action at the 2024 Italian Open will begin on Tuesday, May 7, with the women's singles matches. World No. 1 Iga Swiatek won the Madrid Open after saving three championship points against Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
Swiatek is now vying to become the first player since Serena Williams in 2013 to win titles in Madrid and Rome in the same season. Elena Rybakina is the defending champion and is aiming to defend a title for the first time in her career.
Gauff has a chance to reach a new career-high ranking of No. 2, provided that she outperforms Sabalenka. However, the leading ladies of the WTA Tour have received a first-round bye and won't be in action until Thursday.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of exciting matches in store in the first round as well. Here's a look at the predictions for some of the singles matches lined up for Day 1 of the Italian Open:
#1 - Leylah Fernandez vs Ana Bogdan
Fernandez has compiled an 8-9 record for the season so far. She has won back-to-back matches just once this year, which was during her quarterfinal run at the Qatar Open.
Fernandez hasn't fared any better on clay and has just a lone victory on the surface. She defeated Anastasia Potapova to reach the third round of the Madrid Open, where she lost to Ons Jabeur.
Bogdan, too, hasn't done much aside from a solid run at one tournament. Out of her six main draw wins this season, four have come from her runner-up finish at the Transylvania Open. She also bowed out in the first round of both of her clay tournaments this year.
Both have just one career victory at the Italian Open so far. With neither being in particularly strong form, this match could swing either. Fernandez has performed a tad bit better than Bogdan, which could potentially flip the contest in her favor.
Predicted winner: Leylah Fernandez
#2 - Shelby Rogers vs Lisa Pigato
Rogers made her comeback at the start of the season at the Australian Open but lost to Emma Raducanu in the first round. She tallied her first main draw win of the season at the Miami Open as she defeated Linda Fruhvirtova in straight sets.
Rogers then lost in the second round to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She made it to the second round of both of the clay tournaments she competed in, the Charleston Open and the Madrid Open.
Pigato mainly competes on the ITF circuit. She has just a couple of main draw appearances to her name at the WTA level. One of them was at last year's Italian Open, where she made it to the second round.
That's one step further than Rogers has ever been at the Italian Open. She has failed to make it past the opening hurdle in Rome throughout her career. Even though she's on the comeback trail, she'll be favored to pip Pigato given the vast gulf in their experience.
Predicted winner: Shelby Rogers
#3 - Magdalena Frech vs Ashlyn Krueger
Frech had a breakthrough at the Australian Open this year, where she reached the fourth round of a Major for the first time. She also made it to the third round of the Dubai Tennis Championships, a WTA 1000 event.
However, Frech has struggled since then. She has lost in the first round of every tournament since then. Her losing streak was broken with a win over Celine Naef at the Billie Jean King Cup. However, she still has lost six of her last seven matches.
Kreuger is the latest American making waves on the tour. The clay swing has proven to be quite fruitful for her so far. She won the doubles title at the Charleston Open with Sloane Stephens. She also reached the third round of the Madrid Open, her best showing at a WTA 1000 tournament as well.
Frech could make it a competitive battle if she's able to rediscover her form from earlier in the season. However, given their recent results, Krueger will be expected to make a winning debut at the Italian Open.
Predicted winner: Ashlyn Krueger
#4 - Martina Trevisan vs Yulia Putintseva
Trevisan has struggled this season as she has a dismal 2-9 record at the WTA level. Putintseva, meanwhile, has played some of her best tennis over the last couple of months.
Putintseva reached the fourth round of the Indian Wells Open and went a step further at the Miami Open, where she made it to the last eight. She almost bettered that result at the Madrid Open. She held a couple of match points against Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals but couldn't close out the match.
Trevisan has felt the pressure of playing in front of her home crowd at the Italian Open and has never won a match at the venue. Putintseva, on the other hand, has reached the quarterfinals here in 2020. Given the stark contrast in their results, the Kazakh has a good shot at winning this match.
Predicted winner: Yulia Putintseva