First round action at the 2019 Tianjin Open kick starts on Monday, October 7 with Caroline Garcia leading today’s play? Here’s Caroline Garcia v Anastasia Potapova & Yulia Putintseva v Astra Sharma tips, previews and predictions along with a couple of other matches for today.
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Qiang Wang v Arina Rodionova Predictions & Preview
World number 22 Qiang Wang will be in action as she takes on Australia’s 29-year-old and 236th-ranked Arina Rodionova in her opening round match. And opponents don’t come easier. Rodionova, who last won a lower-level title in 2018 and has had a struggle otherwise this year, is yet to win a match in the main draw of any WTA competitions this season.
In fact she has struggled at the lower level circuit too, making just one final this year and that she made it through to the main draw of the Tianjin Open comes as a huge surprise. She showed her fighting spirit in each of those three matches, winning the encounters in three sets apiece and every time after having lost the first set.
Qiang Wang will be a different kettle of fish though, with the Chinese ranked 22nd in the world and having made the US Open quarter-final recently. She lost in the third round at Wuhan after that and was knocked out in the first at the China Open but should have it quite straightforward here. A straight-set win for the Chinese former world number 12.
Tip: Qiang Wang to win in straight sets: 10/11 with Unibet
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Dayana Yastremska v Lin Zhu Predictions & Preview
Another Chinese lady, Lin Zhu will be in action at the Tianjin Open as she takes on world number 23 Dayana Yastremska in her first round match. This will be the first meeting between Yastremska and Zhu.
Yastremska has been threatening to break out with something big for a while this year. There was a fourth round appearance at Wimbledon where she defeated Sofia Kenin, third round at the US Open and the quarterfinal at the Wuhan Open last month. At the China Open she demolished Caroline Garcia and while she suffered a second round loss at the hands of Belinda Bencic, she showed enough sparkle to expect something big from her.
One thing to note here is recently, Yastremska’s defeats have come at the hands of superior-ranked opponents most times. And Lin Zhu, at a singles ranking of 106th doesn’t quite qualify as one, having made a mark at the ITF level tournaments. There was a quarter-final at Nanchang recently but her wins there had come against rank-outsiders and in Yastremska, she would be facing a player of a vastly superior pedigree.
Easy win for Yastremska expected.
Tip: Yastremska to win in straight sets: 41/50 with Unibet
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Harriet Dart v Kurumi Nara Predictions & Preview
Great Britain’s Harriet Dart will take on Kurumi Nara in what will be their second match on head to head. Nara had won in their first meeting that came at the Gifu ITF tournament last year but Dart has come a long way since. She was ranked outside the top 200 at that stage and has now improved 133rd in the world.
On the other hand, Nara, once a world number 32, has fallen to 159th as a result of her struggles at the highest level. This year, for instance, Nara has won just two main draw matches – they came at the French Open and at the home tournament in Hiroshima earlier.
Dart’s record on hard courts this year is a decent 14-8 but she has won just one match in the main draw of hard court events. Then again, most of her opponents have been higher-ranked or in-form. In Nara, she has someone she should be able to get the better of, although it could turn out to be a fighting match.
Tip: Dart to win: 8/11 with Unibet
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Magda Linette v Christina McHale Predictions & Preview
Magda Linette will take on Christina McHale in their first round match at the Tianjin Open and this will be their sixth meeting. McHale leads 4-1 so far, but on hard court surfaces, it’s 1-1. That and the fact that Linette is in the form of her life make her a strong contender for this one.
Linette is currently ranked 42nd in the world, one notch lower than her best-ever ranking. She won her first ever WTA title earlier this year too in New York, winning eight matches in a row to qualify and go the distance. A final at Seoul Open followed, and while she was knocked out in the first round at the China Open that loss came at the hands of Sloane Stephens.
Her form and superior ranking – McHale is 81st in the world – is an exhibit of why she is 6/11 to win this one and we will have to go with that.
Tip: Linette to win: 6/11 with Unibet
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