As the WTA Tour switches to grass, Birmingham, Great Britain, welcomes 32 players to its grounds for the 2024 Rothesay Classic. With zero top-20 players left in the draw, WTA Birmingham is there for the taking and should provide brilliant theater across the board. As always, we at LWOT have the preview and prediction for all Rothesay Classic matches. But who will advance to the second round?
WTA Birmingham Day 2 Predictions
Barbora Krejcikova vs Daria Saville
Head-to-Head: first meeting
No. 2 seed Barbora Krejcikova gets her WTA Birmingham campaign underway against Daria Saville. The 28-year-old Czech comes into this event on a five-match losing streak, though she is 10-5 tour-level grass-court matches. Saville fought through two tough qualifying matches to reach the main draw and should be playing confidently with four grass matches under her belt this season. Given the current form of both players, I like the Aussie to pull the upset.
Prediction: Saville in 3
Marie Bouzkova vs Heather Watson
Head-to-Head: first meeting
After a tough start to the season, Marie Bouzkova rebounded with a 7-3 record on the clay. She has been an up-and-down grass-court player throughout her career and will be tested by wildcard Heather Watson. The 32-year-old Brit favors grass as her best surface and always seems to make noise in June and July. However, she comes to WTA Birmingham with just two wins since mid-February. Bouzkova will be too tough.
Prediction: Bouzkova in 2
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Diana Shnaider vs Amelia Rajecki
Head-to-Head: first meeting
20-year-old Diana Shanider has burst onto the scene this year with success at both the WTA and ITF levels. She is 22-12 in all competitions in 2024 with 16 wins over top 100 players. Despite being ranked outside the world’s top 800, 22-year-old Brit Amelia Rajecki took down two top 75 ranked players in qualies to secure her spot in the main draw. This will be the first tour-level match of her career, and given her free-swinging capabilities, I like the home crowd to get behind her and lead her to victory.
Prediction: Rajecki in 3
Katie Boulter vs Anhelina Kalinina
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Katie Boulter has had a tremendous season and is coming off her third career title in Nottingham. The 27-year-old Brit is playing with a ton of confidence and is rightfully one of the favorites to raise the WTA Birmingham title. Anhelina Kalinina is a decent grass-courter in her own right, but there is no stopping Boulter on her home turf.
Prediction: Boulter in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke – USA TODAY Sports