Wednesday at the Cincinnati Open features a loaded slate with 40 total matches, including 14 WTA singles bouts. No. 14 seed and two-time WTA Cincinnati champion Victoria Azarenka begins her campaign against Lucia Bronzetti. As always, we at LWOT have the preview and prediction for that match and all predictions around the grounds of Cincinnati. But who will advance?
WTA Cincinnati Day 2 Predictions
Leylah Fernandez vs Yue Yuan
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Leylah Fernandez has had an up-and-down season, culminating in an unfortunate second-round loss in Toronto last week. However, she plays her best tennis on this surface and should feel confident in her ability to make some noise over the next month. 25-year-old Yue Yuan is playing the best tennis of her career this season. However, she has not strung back-to-back wins together since mid-April. If you remove a nine-match winning streak in late February and early March, Yuan is just 14-18 this season. Give me the Canadian.
Prediction: Fernandez in 2
Marta Kostyuk vs Lulu Sun
Head-to-Head: Kostyuk 1-0 Sun
Lulu Sun was one of the darlings of Wimbledon this summer, advancing out of qualifying to reach the final eight. That run advanced her 70 spots in the rankings up to World No. 53. Interestingly enough, Sun’s only match since SW19 was a 4-6 3-6 loss to Marta Kostyuk in the Olympics. The No. 15 seed is incredibly consistent but tends to struggle against the best in the world. That should not be an issue here, as I see the Ukranian pushing Sun around the court.
Prediction: Kostyuk in 3
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Victoria Azarenka vs Lucia Bronzetti
Head-to-Head: first meeting
No. 14 seed Victoria Azarenka is a two-time WTA Cincinnati champion. She starts her campaign this week against Lucky Loser Lucia Bronzetti. The 25-year-old Italian is a much better clay-court player, as shown by her struggles in qualifying. Azarenka is 35, but she is still incredibly dangerous on a hard court.
Prediction: Azarenka in 2
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey – USA TODAY Sports
