The remaining second round matches at the 2019 WTA Toray Pan Pacific will be played on Thursday, September 19 with Kiki Bertens leading the way for them. Get all the information on the Kiki Bertens v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova & Donna Vekic v Misaki Doi tips and predictions with some of the other previews below.
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Kiki Bertens v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Predictions & Preview
World number eight Kiki Bertens will start off an obvious favourite against the 41st-ranked Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova but their previous history suggests all is not lost for the Russian. In seven previous meetings, Bertens has won five but Pavlyuchenkova has also managed to scoop a couple of matches.
Four of these seven matches have come in the last 12 months and that makes for an even telling stat with both players having won a couple of matches apiece. More recently, at the US Open, Bertens was a straight-set winner over Pavlyuchenkova in their second round clash.
Bertens was pushed to a tough two-setter by Ajla Tomljanovic in her first round match while Pavlyuchenkova beat Dayana Yastremska 6-3, 6-1 in her opener. And while these matches don’t really give a huge indication, Bertens’ recent form hasn’t been extraordinary by any stretch.
Since making the final at Palermo, Bertens was 3-3 on win-loss coming into this tournament and Pavlyuchenkova will look to exploit any chinks that might be presented to her here. Might see an upset.
Tip: Pavlyuchenkova to win: 16/11 (Unibet)
Donna Vekic v Misaki Doi Predictions & Preview
In three previous outings, Donna Vekic has won two and both those wins came earlier this year. Doi’s only victory over her Croatian opponent happened in 2017 Madrid Open. And on paper, a player ranked 21st in the world, having made the quarter-final at the US Open earlier this month should start off a favourite against Japan’s Doi, who is 83rd in the world.
That said, Doi has turned things around in her career more recently. A runner-up at the Hiroshima Open last week was followed by a first round win against the more fancied Kristina Mladenovic. Making that victory more special was the convincing manner in which Doi achieved it – a 6-1, 6-2 rout.
And while we would still back Vekic to win this one, don’t count out Doi to fight till the very end, and even push her opponent to the third.
Tip: Vekic to win in three: 3/1 (Unibet)
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Varvara Flink v Yulia Putintseva Preview
Yulia Putintseva will take on Varvara Flink in this second round fixture and this will also be the second time they will be facing off against each other. Putintseva was a 7-5, 7-5 winner over Flink in her previous match played in Washington in 2016.
Flink, ranked 149th in the world, has had a reasonable run as she looks to push on with her rankings. She made the round of 16 at New Haven WTA competition and followed it up with a second round appearance at Hiroshima last week. A couple of qualifiers wins brought her to the main draw of this competition where she shocked Nao Hibino in her opener. Hibino was the Hiroshima Open winner last week.
However, would that be enough to challenge Putintseva who made the third round at the US Open and second round at Zhenzhou Open last week? We believe not but we do think there might be a three-setter in the offing.
Tip: Three sets in the match: 8/5 (Unibet)
Sloane Stephens v Camila Giorgi Preview
Four matches played and both, Sloane Stephens and Camila Giorgi have won two apiece in their career. It started with a Stephens win at the 2012 Cincinnati Open before Giorgi won two in a row at Montreal 2016 and Sydney 2018. More recently, Stephens made it 2-2 when she won a gruelling one at the 2018 French Open, 4-6, 6-1, 8-6 to advance to the fourth.
In short, Giorgi, despite her 54th rank in the world, to Stephens’ 14th – and she was once a number three too – might not be a pushover, especially not when it comes to the American. Add that to the fact that Stephens’ recent hard court form has been worth a mention – she is 7-10 on win-loss – it might give Giorgi the edge.
That is also why Giorgi starts a bookmakers’ favourite too, at 13/15 to Stephens’ 11/10.
Tip: Giorgi to win: 13/15 (Unibet)