The qualifiers are placed in the WTA Miami Open main draw, which features plenty of exciting first-round matches on Day 2. Every match in this article should have been on Day 1, but placing qualifiers was delayed due to rain. Who will advance?
WTA Miami Day 2 Predictions
Anastasia Zakharova vs Anna Bondar
Head-to-head: Zakharova 1-1 Bondar
Zakharova enters this match with some tangible form and real momentum. The Russian has eight wins from her last ten matches and reached the main draw without losing a set in qualifying. Bondar has a 7-7 win-loss record this season and with over half of her defeats against players ranked outside the Top 50. Bondar carries the higher floor, but she is not playing her best tennis at this moment.
Prediction: Zakharova in 3
Elisabetta Cocciaretto vs Darja Semenistaja
Head-to-head: Cocciaretto 2-0 Semenistaja
Elisabetta Cocciaretto was having a great start to the season, bagging her second career title in Hobart and making the quarterfinal of the WTA 1000 in Doha. Overall, she is 14-4 this season, and she is ranked in the Top 50. The only wrinkle was a thigh injury she sustained in Dubai, which led her to withdraw from the tournament despite qualifying for the main draw. That said, the Italian arrives in Miami fit and fresh and owns a 2-0 record against Semenistaja, whom she beat en route to the title in Hobart.
Prediction: Cocciaretto in 3
Alycia Parks vs Sinja Kraus
Head-to-head: first meeting
Parks has been in and out of the Top 100 this season and after a four-match losing streak, she finds herself outside it again. The American possesses one of the biggest serves on tour when she gets her timing and placement right and she is dangerous when she takes quick cuts from the baseline. But she is prone to making too many errors when her game breaks down. Kraus is in a steadier form and if she drags rallies by a shot or two, that’s where Parks’ level could dip.
Prediction: Kraus in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports