With rain causing huge delays in the first few days of the tournament, Day 4 at the WTA 1000 in Miami will feature a lot of matches in a race against the clock (and the weather) to get the tournament back on schedule. Should the weather allow it, this Friday will be a true tennis feast, with many high quality and tightly contested matches.
WTA Miami Day 4 Predictions
Zeynep Sonmez vs Belinda Bencic
Head-to-head: Bencic 1-0 Sonmez
Even though Sonmez played quite well in the first round against Beatriz Haddad Maia, Bencic is a significant step up in level. Bencic hasn’t managed to get any big results so far this year and this is another opportunity to finally do so. She will be highly motivated and most likely prevail in relatively easy fashion as she did in their previous meeting.
Prediction: Bencic in 2
Yuliia Starodubtseva vs Cristina Bucsa
Head-to-head: Bucsa 2-0 Starodubtseva
Busca might be the much higher-ranked player with a 2-0 head-to-head, but on a surface like this it is a much closer matchup than that history would seem to indicate. Still, Bucsa should have the edge, but Starodubtseva could well push her to her very limits if she maintains the level she showed in qualifying and in the first round.
Prediction: Bucsa in 3
Caty McNally vs Xinyu Wang
Head-to-head: Wang 1-0 McNally
Wang won a very close three-setter when the pair faced earlier this year in Auckland and this could well be a similarly tight match. Wang might be the superior player in general, but she has been struggling with her game in recent tournaments and McNally definitely has enough weapons to make this a real contest, decided by fine details.
Prediction: Wang in 3
Jessica Pegula vs Francesca Jones
Head-to-head: first meeting
Pegula’s last three tournaments have been a title in Dubai and two losses to Elena Rybakina, at the Australian Open and in Indian Wells. She is one of the most consistent players on Tour, one of the favorites in every tournament she plays, and it takes some massive performances from lower ranked players like Jones to even trouble her, let alone beat her.
Prediction: Pegula in 2
Main Photo Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images
