Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the WTA 125 match.
Ipek Oz had to navigate the qualifiers even for a 125-level tournament, and in the first round, she faces the fifth seed, Erika Andreeva. Does the Turkish player stand any chance of success?
Ipek Oz
The Turkish player has not previously faced Andreeva, which is understandable given Oz is ranked closer to the middle of the third hundred (237), while the Russian is in the top 100 (79). Nonetheless, she has accumulated significant indoor experience this season (13-10). Before 2024, she focused predominantly on clay, where she played more than half of her matches. However, her positive record is mainly from ITF tournaments.
Erika Andreeva
For the 20-year-old Russian, indoor tournaments are her most successful, both this season (5/2) and in her career (48/21), boasting nearly a 70% win rate. That said, Erika Andreeva hasn't played since the Guangzhou Masters, where she fell in the first round to Serbian player Olga Danilovic (4:6, 4:6). She entered the Chinese tournament ranked 65th but has since dropped to 79th after a month and a half of non-participation.
Ipek Oz vs Erika Andreeva Prediction
The match Ipek Oz lost at the WTA Angers tournament to Elena-Gabriela Ruse (126) (4:6, 2:6) demonstrated that even competing against opponents of that level is challenging for her, suggesting this match will conclude swiftly.
