WTA Sydney: Final Prediction

WTA Sydney: Fingers crossed, the final won’t be a washout!

The final has yet to be decided at the 2016 Apia International Sydney due to persistent rain delaying the semi final matches from being completed. Who’d have predicted that when the mercury rose above 100 degrees Fahrenheit a few days ago?! However, the matches did at least get underway today on the hard courts in Australia and will resume tomorrow with the final to be played in the evening.

Here is my prediction as to who will come through and win this Premier level event.

(Rank/Seed)

(2/1) Simona Halep was leading (25/-) Svetlana Kuznetsova 5-4 and (94/-) Monica Puig had a surprising 4-0 lead against (14/8) Belinda Bencic when play ceased today after numerous interruptions.

Halep appears to have recovered from the Achilles injury which forced her to withdraw from Brisbane last week. Though she’s yet to play her best, the Romanian has handled tricky hard-hitters Caroline Garcia 64 26 61 and (11/5) Karolina Pliskova 64 75. Not bad when you consider the 24 year old failed to win a match in her only previous attempt here two years ago, losing in the first round against Madison Keys.

Kuznetsova has also bounced back well considering a second round loss in Auckland last week. Though she hasn’t had to face a seeded player until now, the 30 year old former number two has had to beat former Grand Slam finalists, Sabine Lisicki 63 36 63 and Sara Errani 76(1) 60 to reach this stage. This is the best showing the Russian has posted in Sydney since reaching the final back in 2008.

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Bencic hasn’t quite picked up where she left off last year, struggling all week after losing in the second round of Brisbane. The Swiss has dropped sets to Mirjana Lucic Baroni and Ekaterina Makarova this week, winning each 64 in the third set after dropping the second. Despite her patchy form though, the 18 year old stands to gain substantially in the rankings as she lost in the first round last year to Daria Gavrilova.

Last but by no means least, Puig is having the best week of her career, reaching her third WTA semi final and her first at the Premier level. Considering she failed to qualify in Auckland last week, the 22 year old’s run here is remarkable. So far, the Puerto Rican has won six matches, including an upset of home favourite, Samantha Stosur 64 64 in the quarter finals. Not bad when you consider she’d never won a set against the Aussie in four previous attempts and this is her Sydney debut!

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