WTA Cincinnati Open Quarters predictions: Gauff and Swiatek in play

Earlier this week, I previewed the Cincinnati Open women’s draw and gave my predictions for who would reach the quarterfinals. As the tournament reaches the business end, let’s examine the quarterfinal matchups of the final major lead-up tournament to the US Open, including Coco Gauff playing extremely well.

Quarterfinal 1: (1) Iga Swiatek vs. (10) Marketa Vondrousova

World number 1 Iga Swiatek faces Marketa Vondrousova in a match of the last two major champions. Swiatek, who expressed her discontent with the constant media scrutiny of her play, defeated Vondrousova in their only previous meeting in 2020.

Vondrousova has looked impressive since winning her maiden singles major at Wimbledon. She does not appear to be buckling under the newfound pressure that comes with being a major winner. Swiatek and Vondrousova have some of the greatest variety of shots on tour and this match should be a shot-making spectacle. Expect Swiatek to edge out Vondrousova in 3 sets.

Swiatek, Gauff, and Jabeur all in action on Friday

Quarterfinal 2: (Q) Jasmine Paolini vs. (7) Coco Gauff

Coco Gauff has continued her stellar US Open Series swing by reaching another WTA 1000 quarterfinal. Gauff’s serve was wobbly at times in her previous match, but she righted the ship against Linda Noskova. Gauff will enter this quarterfinal as a heavy favorite.

Jasmine Paolini has fought through qualifying to reach one of the biggest quarterfinals of her career. Admittedly, she has had a favorable draw and she advanced to this round after Elena Rybakina retired after winning the first set. Paolini will fight against Gauff, but Gauff will come through in straight sets.

Quarterfinal 3: Karolina Muchova vs. Marie Bouzkova

The only quarterfinal featuring two unseeded players will be a battle of young Czechs. Karolina Muchova has continued to find her form in this resurgent season. Just a few months ago, she narrowly lost to Iga Swiatek in the French Open finals. She will do battle against Marie Bouzkova, who thrashed Montreal champion Jessica Pegula in round 3.

Bouzkova is a steady baseliner who makes her opponents work to beat her. Muchova will have to balance her aggression with control in order to hit through her opponent. I expect that Muchova’s variety and forehand will be a bit too much for Bouzkova, and she will advance in 2 tight sets.

Quarterfinal 4: (5) Ons Jabeur vs. (2) Aryna Sabalenka

Ons Jabeur seems to have rebounded from her Wimbledon loss last month. A win against the big-hitting world number 2 would do wonders for her belief in finally securing a singles major.

Jabeur was able to stifle Sabalenka in the Wimbledon semifinals, injecting her own pace after diffusing Sabalenka’s. It will be a hard task to do so again. While an excellent grass court player, Sabalenka is more at home on the hardcourts, where she has a bit more time to load for her groundstrokes. This match should be very high quality, and I predict that Sabalenka will outlast Jabeur in 3 sets.