Samantha Stosur vs Yanina Wickmayer Tennis Prediction
Samantha Stosur’s title defense campaign at Strasbourg ended in the quarterfinals last week (l. Cibulkova). With that, the Aussie’s rank has fallen to #90. It will drop outside top 100 for the first time since 2008 if she fails to defend the fourth round points at the French Open.
Stosur, who fell to the eventual champion Ostapenko last year, has not lost a first-round match at this slam since 2006. Apart from the 2010 runner-up finish, the former world #4 has also reached its semifinals on three other occasions, most recently in 2016 (l. Muguruza).
Former #12 Yanina Wickmayer fell in the qualifying rounds of Australian Open this year, ending her streak of 39 consecutive slam main draw appearances. Since then, she has won a $25k ITF title and reached the semifinal of $125k Zhengzhou, earning her the direct entry at the French Open.
The 2009 US Open semifinalist has a 5-5 record in French Open first rounds, with three third-round runs being her best result at this slam. Her most recent wins at the tournament came in 2016 when she defeated Makarova and Dulgheru only to run into eventual champion Muguruza.
Stosur leads the head-to-head record against the Belgian 4-2, with the recent clash coming at the 2016 Indian Wells (Stosur, 2-6 6-4 7-6). One of their previous encounters includes a second-round match-up at the 2009 French Open when the Aussie prevailed in three sets.
Tennis Prediction: Samantha Stosur
Odds: 1.33
