Some of the first round action at the 2023 Poland Open will see Katerina Siniakova take on Heather Watson and Zhang Shuai play Tereza Martincova. Get the latest predictions along with the odds, preview and head to head for these matches along with Claire Liu v Yue Yuan and Clara Tauson v Daria Snigur.
Katerina Siniakova v Heather Watson Preview
Head-to-Head: Siniakova leads 1-0, having won their only meeting in Dubai in 2020.
World no. 36 and third seed Katerina Siniakova won the fourth WTA title of her career in June when she won the Bad Homburg title. Siniakova is 14-10 across levels this year and is coming of a 6-2 run on grass. Now on to the hard courts, Siniakova will look to improve her season record of 8-7 on the surface. The Czech player’s best effort on hard court this year saw her reach the semifinal of the Merida Open. She playe din Warsaw last year as well, but played in the second round of the tournament, which was played on clay court.
World no. 146 Heather Watson recently reached the semifinals in Nottingham, but lost in the first round in the next two grass court events. The Briton has an overall record of 11-6 on hard courts this year and that includes a quarterfinal finish in Hua Hin and a runner-up finish in an ITF tournament. A former top 40 player, Watson has seen a dip in form in recent years and has struggled to produce good results on hard courts. It will be dificlt for her to advance to the next round.
Katerina Siniakova v Heather Watson Tip
Siniakova has been in better form. The Czech to win: 1/4
Zhang Shuai v Tereza Martincova Preview
Head-to-Head: They are 1-1 from their previous meetings, Zhang won at the Australian Open in 2016 and Martincova won in Nottingham last year.
Zhang Shuai reportedly suffered a panic attack in her first round match in Budapest last week against Amarissa Tóth, after disagreement over a line call and the subsequent erasing of the mark by her opponent. The Chinese pulled out of the contest after the incident in the first round but will be looking to overcome the incident and start off well in Warsaw. Zhang, the world no. 45, has had a torrid run this year and is coming into the tournament on the back of 13 consecutive losses dating back to the second round of the Lyon Open. Earlier she had made it to the fourth round of the Australian Open and had also won her first round match in Lyon, but those four wins are the only ones that she has accumulated this season. She is 4-16 overall and 3-7 on hard courts. Can she return to winning ways?
Taking on Zhang is Czech Republic’s Tereza Martincova, who hasn’t delivered at the top level this year, but has found some success in lower level tournaments. Martincova is 2-12 in tour level matches this year and as a result of those numbers she has fallen out of the top 100. Currently ranked no. 107, the former top 40 is however coming of a good showing in the WTA 125 in Contrexeville, where she was a semifinalist recently. She had also played in a clay court final at an ITF tournament.
Zhang Shuai v Tereza Martincova Tip
It’s a contest between two struggling players, but Martincova has still been winning tennis matches even if it may be at the lower level, Zhang hasn’t won a match since January. So the Czech has the edge. Martincova to win: 1/3
Claire Liu v Yue Yuan Preview
Head-to-Head: The two will be meeting for the first time.
Claire Liu is coming of a fine showing in Budapest, where she won three matches in straight sets, before going down in the semifinal to Kateryna Baindl. Ranked no. 78th in the world, the American player is 17-20 from across levels this season and was also a quarterfinalist in WTA 125 in Bastad before the final four finish in Hungary. But those two events were on clay and now she needs to transition to hard courts. She is 9-10 from her matches on hard court this year, with her best being a third round finish in Miami.
Taking on Liu is China’s Yue Yuan. The world no. 116 was a runner-up at an ITF in Mexico earlier this year and as a result she is 4-4 on the surface. Yue has played most of her matches on clay this season, reaching a Challenger quarterfinal in Makarska and an ITF quarterfinal in Charleston. Yue also reached a Challenger quarterfinal on grass in Gaiba this year. At the tour level she has a 0-3 record this year. Can she open her account in Poland?
Claire Liu v Yue Yuan Tip
Liu is more experienced and has a better record this season. Liu to win: 1/2
Clara Tauson v Daria Snigur Preview
Head-to-Head: The two have never met before.
World no. 91 Clara Tauson will be playing her first match on hard court this year. The 20-year-old Dane has played plenty of matches on indoor court and clay this season and has found far amount of success as well, but most of it has come at the lower level. Tauson, who made it to the third round of the French Open as a qualifier, was a quarterfinalist in Linz. She also won the ITF title in Altenkirchen and finished runner-up in ITF Maribor. Both of those tournaments were played on indoor courts. Tauson is 30-12 overall and faces a tough first round match against a player who won a title on Sunday.
Daria Snigur captured the ITF Vitoria-Gasteiz title on Sunday. The win improved her hard court numbers to 12-4 this season, and it also includes a semifinal finish in ITF Tossa de Mar and a last eight finish in ITF Calvi. Additionally she also reached a couple of indoor semifinals at the ITF level. At the tour level, she is 1-1 this year, with Nottingham being the only WTA tournament where she played this year and that too as a lucky loser.
Clara Tauson v Daria Snigur Tip
Tauson is the superior player in this match and expected to advance. Tauson to win: 2/5
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The 2023 Poland Open will be played from July 24 to 30. Get our ultimate guide on tennis betting and predictions here.
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