Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the WTA Cincinnati match.
An incredible stroke of luck in the draw helped Romanian player Sorana Cirstea (No.138 WTA) reach the last 16. However, her good fortune ends here, with her next opponent being Iga Swiatek (No.3 WTA) — one of the main contenders for the title.
Iga Swiatek
This tournament has been going perfectly for Swiatek so far. In the opening round, she easily swept aside Anastasia Potapova (No.45 WTA), winning in straight sets (6:1, 6:4). Her next scheduled opponent, Marta Kostyuk (No.27 WTA), withdrew before the match even began, giving the Pole valuable time to recover fully and prepare for the battle for a quarter-final spot.
Sorana Cirstea
Cirstea’s toughest opponent so far was Magdalena Frech (No.28 WTA), who is in dreadful form, so the Romanian’s three-set victory was hardly a surprise. In the round of 32, she faced China’s Yue Yuan (No.98 WTA), who had stunned Diana Shnaider (No.20 WTA) but fizzled out afterwards.
Iga Swiatek vs Sorana Cirstea Prediction
There is little point in overanalysing this match, as the 135-place gap in the rankings speaks for itself. For Swiatek, this should be a comfortable outing, and it is highly doubtful that Cirstea can do anything to change that.
