Coming through the qualifiers seems to have worked in the favour of both women and a deep run this week for either one would see them climb into the top 100. Quevedo broke the Stearns serve five times in her 1st Round match and did it on the back of winning 67% of 2nd serve return points. Her game plan here will be to place the Costoulas 2nd serve under immense pressure and it is the single factor that will determine the outcome of this contest. Costoulas won 82% of 1st serve points against Osuigwe but only 38% when forced to deliver a second serve. Can see Quevedo’s pressure paying dividends.
Bejlek improved to 16-2 in her last 18 matches across all levels of tennis but this is not her preferred surface. She has played more than 90% of her matches in the last year on clay (her preferred surface) and it has allowed her to climb into the top 100 gaining automatic entry into the majors. She may have beaten Udvardy in straight sets but one statistic that cannot be ignored is her performance on 2nd serve with only 24% of points won. Jovic will break serve at will so we will be backing her to cover the handicap with confidence.
The battle of the Austrians was won by Sinja Kraus on the back of 90% of 1st serve points won. This came after betting Sevastova (former world no.11) and Mladenovic (former top 10) in the qualifiers so she will be brimming with confidence. The same can be said about Jones after she beat Navarro but breaking the Kraus serve will likely be a more difficult task. If Kraus can replicate the serving performances from her previous matches she will be winning this match outright. At a minimum, she will be winning a set.
In most instances beating a former major champion is a good result but Zarazua was well below her best against Stephens. Had she not recovered from 5-2 down in the opening set to win it, she more than likely would have made an early exit. Wang came from a set down to get the better of McNally and a recent win over Swiatek in an exhibition match may have given her the belief needed to get over the line. She has a poor finish to last season but played her best tennis on the faster surfaces – including Berlin where she made the final as a qualifier. This will be a seesawing affair that could go deep into a third set. Overs.