Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the WTA Cincinnati match.
The round of 16 at the hard-court WTA 1000 in Cincinnati brings an unexpected pairing, as Ella Seidel faces Varvara Gracheva. Both have had a testing path to this stage: Seidel has taken out Emma Navarro, McCartney Kessler and Veronika Kudermetova, while Gracheva has overcome Katie Volynets, Sofia Kenin and Karolina Muchova. Both arrive in excellent spirits, and this promises to be a tense contest.
Ella Seidel
Seidel is enjoying her best spell of the season, with 10 wins from her last 12 matches and eight from 11 on hard courts this year. In her last four outings, the German has spent an average of two hours on court, with every match going to at least 27 games. She has been serving well in this tournament, winning 68% of points on her first serve, and has been clinical on break points, converting 55% of her chances.
Varvara Gracheva
Gracheva is also in good rhythm, but her hard-court record this year is less impressive, with seven defeats from 17 matches on the surface. In Cincinnati, counting the qualifiers, she has played five matches but produced modest numbers. Varvara has committed 29 double faults and has kept her first serve at around 60% in both accuracy and points won.
Ella Seidel vs Varvara Gracheva Prediction
This will be their first meeting. The difference in current form and hard-court effectiveness leans in Seidel’s favour, even if Gracheva is the bookmaker’s favourite. The German should take this with the safety of a positive handicap.
