WTA Beijing: Semi Final Predictions

WTA Beijing: Calling Ana and Timea…last stop for Singapore!

The semi finals have been decided at the 2015 China Open in Beijing.

Garbine Muguruza will play Agnieszka Radwanska and Ana Ivanovic will play Timea Bacsinszky. Did I predict that these players would at least reach the quarter finals? Find out here!

Here are my predictions as to who will reach the final.

(Rank/Seed)

(5/5) Garbine Muguruza vs (8/4) Agnieszka Radwanska

Muguruza has had a memorable week in reaching her 4th semi final of the year and 1st at a Premier Mandatory event. Though the Spaniard had never won a match in Beijing before, she celebrated her 22nd birthday with a 3rd round win over Mirjana Lucic Baroni. She out steadied her inspired opponent 16 61 62 to secure her qualification into the WTA Finals, becoming the 1st Spaniard since 2001 to do so. In the quarter finals, she closed out the net rushing Bethanie Mattek Sands 61 75, despite having led 5-2 and doesn’t seem to have been affected by the ankle injury which forced her to retire midway through the final in Wuhan last week.

Radwanska looks good for Singapore as she moves into her 6th semi final of the year. The Pole will qualify for the WTA Finals this week if she wins the title, just as she did in 2011. In the 2nd round against Mona Barthel, she struggled with her emotions to edge it 46 61 64. The 26 year old was much sharper against (10/10) Angelique Kerber in the quarters, claiming her 1st top 10 win of the year 61 64. Radwanska was typically tenacious and canny, whilst Kerber was uncharacteristically errant on her forehand..

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Muguruza leads Radwanska 3-2 in their head to head, winning all 3 meetings they’ve contested this year. 2 of these came on hard courts in Sydney and Dubai early in the year, the other coming on the grass at Wimbledon. Muguruza won a fluctuating struggle 62 36 63 to reach her 1st Grand Slam final.

In this match, Muguruza will be the aggressor and will look to bully Radwanska’s 2nd serve. The Pole must therefore look to maintain a high 1st serve percentage and attempt to get Muguruza on the move, stopping her from dictating from inside the baseline.

As Muguruza has had a lot of success hitting through counterpunchers this year and doesn’t have the pressure of chasing points for the WTA Finals anymore, I give her the edge to reach her 3rd final of the year.

Prediction: Garbine Muguruza

(15/6) Ana Ivanovic vs (17/12) Timea Bacsinszky

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Ivanovic seems to be re-finding her long lost confidence in reaching her 4th semi final of the year and her 1st since the French Open. The Serb equalled her showing here from last year by accounting for last week’s Wuhan champion, Venus Williams 76(3) 62 in the 2nd round and the 2006/09 champion here, Svetlana Kuznetsova 75 46 62 in the 3rd round. Despite a lower back injury, the 27 year old calmly dispatched Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 63 75 in the quarters, recovering from a 1-4 deficit in the process.

Bacsinszky came into this event on a 5 match losing streak stretching back to Wimbledon. Despite trailing 16 24 against Camila Giorgi in the 1st round, the Swiss recovered and has gone on to reach her 5th semi final of the year, her 1st since the French Open and her 1st at a Premier Mandatory event. It’s been anything but easy for the 26 year old, who was forced to survive (12/7) Carla Suarez Navarro 64 46 75 in the 3rd round and (20/-) Sara Errani 06 63 75 in the quarters. Despite trailing 06 02 15-40, Bacsinszky eventually found her range, winning her fair share of gruelling, variety packed rallies and pummelling Errani’s faltering serve to somehow claim the win. She’s now 1 win away from a place in the top 10.

Ivanovic has beaten Bacsinszky in both of their previous meetings, the latest being a 61 62 win in the 1st round of Toronto 2014.

As the loser will be eliminated from contention for a place in Singapore, this match carries extra significance. Ivanovic will look to use her forehand to boss the points and will need to apply her new found calmness in lengthy rallies against an unorthodox opponent. Bacsinszky will hope for a quicker start than last time and must use her backhand to press home the advantage whenever she can as her forehand can be an unpredictable liability.

Ivanovic’s greater experience and sounder technique should put her in good stead to reach only her 2nd final of the year.

Prediction: Ana Ivanovic

Next: WTA Beijing: Preview & Predictions

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