2016 Volvo Car Open-Daria Kasatkina vs Sloane Stephens

Two talented young stars face off in Charleston, with 14th seed Daria Kasatkina taking on 7th seed Sloane Stephens for a place in the semi-finals at the Volvo Car Open. This match will take place on Stadium court at around 15:00 Charleston Time (20:00 UK Time) and the winner will face 1st seed Angelique Kerber or 13th seed Irina-Camelia Begu in the final four.

Both Kasatkina and Stephens have been impressive so far in Charleston; neither of the two has dropped a set so far. Kasatkina has conceded only nine games on her way to the final, easing past Saisai Zheng, Ana Konjuh and Louise Chirico extremely comfortably, and she will be extremely dangerous if she continues to play like that. Stephens has one advantage of receiving a bye in the first round, and was fairly comfortable in wins over dangerous players Danka Kovinic and 12th seed Daria Gavrilova in Charleston; she too is in good form coming into this intriguing clash.

If both continue the form they are in, it should be a very tight clash, though both can be erratic and it’s important for both to to play at the level they have previously met in Charleston; a poor performance by one could see an easy win for the other. Stephens can be particularly erratic when serving and must serve at a high percentage today, considering that Kasatkina is a good returner. The American should also look to attack the Russian’s game as much as possible, and should look to utilize her strong movement to try and dictate the play. Stephens is arguably the stronger clay court player, which could be an advantage. Kasatkina is, however, arguably in slightly better form here, which could be an advantage, and should look to try and use her power to dictate play. The 14th seed should look to try and attack the American’s serve as much as possible, though must serve well herself against a decent returner. She should also look to try and match the 7th seed’s movement around court.

The two have never met before; another factor that makes this clash interesting. Stephens has played some good tennis this year and will certainly be dangerous, though Kasatkina has been in great form this year and in Charleston, and should be able to edge this highly anticipated match.

Prediction: Kasatkina in 3

 

 

2016 St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy- Belinda Bencic vs Daria Kasatkina

Good friends face off in the second semi-final in St. Petersburg as 1st seed Belinda Bencic takes on home favourite Daria Kasatkina in an interesting clash between two young talents of the game. This match is set to take place at around 16:00 St. Petersburg Time (13:00 UK Time) and the winner will face 4th seed Ana Ivanovic or 2nd seed Roberta Vinci in the final.

Neither of the two have had a particularly easy road to the semi-final, though Bencic does have the advantage of receiving a bye in the first round. The Swiss youngster impressed in her second round match as she eased past the confident Annika Beck in two sets, though had to come from a set down to beat 5th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarter-finals; despite dropping a set, it was a good performance by Bencic and she is playing well here. Kasatkina had to battle past Kirsten Flipkens in her opening round match though beat lucky loser Laura Siegemund in straight sets after that, before facing another tough battle as she came from a set down to beat Dominika Cibulkova.

Kasatkina has spent more time on court playing singles and has also played doubles here; there is a possibility she could be worn out. However she has generally played well on home soil and will have the crowd behind her. The Russian should look to attack Bencic’s game as often as possible and should also look to try and take advantage of any mental errors the occasionally emotional Bencic makes. The top seed has the slightly stronger game and will have more energy, a clear advantage, though must be careful to not get rattled by the home crowd and Kasatkina’s tricky play. She should certainly look to grind down the Russian, who will probably have less energy.

This will be the first meeting between the two and it could potentially be the first of many, so it will be interesting to see who wins this. Kasatkina will have the crowd behind her, but could well be tired and Bencic, with her better energy and stronger game, should win this; it could be comfortable if the Swiss star remains calm.

Prediction: Bencic in 2

2015 Kremlin Cup- Daria Kasatkina vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

The Moscow crowd have a treat in the first of the ladies semi-final as two Russians- rising star Daria Kasatkina and the in-form defending champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova- face off not before 15:30 Moscow Time (13:30 UK Time)

Not many people would have heard of Daria Kasatkina before this week but the qualifier has certainly made an impression so far in the main draw. She started with a tough 7-5 2-6 6-3 win over lucky loser Paula Kania, though backed that up as she upset 7th seed Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3 3-6 6-3 in the 2nd round. Her most comfortable performance came in the quarter-final, as she stunned 5th seed Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1 6-2 in less than an hour- she’ll certainly be comfortable after that. Pavlyuchenkova has had a similar road to the semi-final. She started with a tough 7-5 0-6 6-4 over Monica Nicelescu in the 1st round, and then had another 3-setter as she upset 2nd seed Lucie Safarova 6-1 6-7 6-3. However, like Kasatkina, she was also comfortable in the quarter-finals, easing past Margarita Gasparyan 6-1 6-3.

The two have never met before so it will be interesting to see how well they adapt to each others game. Pavlyuchenkova will be extremely confident- she’s currently on a long winning streak indoors- and won Linz last week, though she made be tired after a long couple of weeks. She is also erratic, so Kasatkina must take advantage of any poor spells in Pavlyuchenkova’s game. Kasatkina will probably need to be at her best, but she may also be he tired after having to come through qualifying.

Pavlyuchenkova is in great form on indoor courts the past couple of years, and it is hard to argue against her here. Kasatkina’s confidence may help her, but Pavlyuchenkova should be relatively comfortable.

Prediction: Pavlyuchenkova in 2