Day 3 at the 2022 WTA Internationaux de Strasbourg features all the remaining first-round matches and two from the round after. Daria Saville will seek her first clay win this year against Anna-Lena Friedsam, while Magda Linette takes on Heather Watson. We also predict the rest of the day’s matches in a separate article. Who do you think will prevail?
WTA Strasbourg Day 3 Predictions
Harmony Tan vs Maryna Zanevska
Head-to-head: First meeting
Maryna Zanevska scored a couple of impressive wins at Saint-Malo, before retiring to Beatriz Haddad Maia in the semifinals. It appears as though the Belgian is fine already as she had no issues defeating Shuai Zhang here. Meanwhile, Harmony Tan handed Samantha Stosur a very straightforward loss in the opening round. The Australian is practically retired now though and that doesn’t really tell us much about Tan’s form. In her previous four clay events this year, the 24-year-old won just one match and was generally struggling big-time. Zanevska should have a slight edge, even with the aspect of the home crowd.
Prediction: Zanevska in 3
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Daria Saville vs Anna-Lena Friedsam
Head-to-head: First meeting
Anna-Lena Friedsam had a very surprising run to the semifinals at Karlsruhe last week, before eventually retiring to Bernarda Pera in the semifinals. This was likely related to playing two matches in one day on Friday, but her fitness is under a question mark. While Daria Saville is yet to win on clay this year, she’s an opponent that will test Friedsam’s rally tolerance and potentially, also force her to run a lot. The Australian lost to Anatasia Potapova and Beatriz Haddad Maia in very tight matches recently, here it feels like she shouldn’t let it get this close.
Prediction: Saville in 2
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Magda Linette vs Heather Watson
Head-to-head: 1-1
Magda Linette had a couple of disappointing losses at Saint-Malo and Paris – first to her compatriot Magda Fręch, then to Ana Bogdan. The Pole is not at her best right now, but scored a very comfortable victory over Varvara Gracheva in round one. This is a favorable draw for Linette, mostly as Heather Watson has rarely been able to find success on clay. The Brit went winless on it in 2020 and 2021 and while she’s finally secured some victories, she’s hardly beaten anyone of note.
Prediction: Linette in 2
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