which of my RG24 picks is wildest (see under the cut for my reasoning! i swear i thought ab these)
2R: Volynets (Q) d. Vondrousova (5)
2R: M Andreeva d. Azarenka (19)
3R: Kostyuk (18) d. Collins (11)
3R: Cirstea (28) d. Zheng (7)
3R: Kalinskaya (23) d. Paolini (12)
3R: Noskova (27) d. Sakkari (8)
3R: Navarro (22) d. Keys (14)
4R: Navarro (22) d. Sabalenka (2)
justification:
Volynets d. Vondrousova: Marketa really hasn't done much all season, clay especially, and having come thru qualifying, I think Katie will be in better form
M Andreeva d Azarenka: Mirra is due for a good Slam run and while I don't think Vika is particularly vulnerable, I do think she might just be surprised/thrown off enough re: Mirra's game and (according to my mother) her 'not-scared-of-anything energy' to be the catalyst
Kostyuk d Collins: Danielle, beloved, I just don't think playing Strasbourg right before RG was the best idea when she's been in such excellent form. she won't (I think) have had time to adjust to Paris whereas Kostyuk has been there for days already, and is a good clay court player herself
Cirstea d Zheng: I don't love this one myself but Zheng's serving has been awful on clay and she's only managed to scratch out wins, so I think Cirstea will pull off the upset
Kalinskaya d Paolini: Kalinskaya will have extra motivation to win this one since she choked during their Dubai final while she was serving for the title earlier this year, although I feel less sure about this one bc Jasmine's had plenty of time to practice since her early Rome exit...
Noskova d Sakkari: Noskova hits a nice flat ball and (from what I've seen) is a real down-in-the-dirt fighter, and Maria's clay season has been underwhelming, so I think Noskova can do just enough damage to wrest the match away
Navarro d Keys: speaking of tennis players who aren't afraid to get into fights, Emma Navarro has some serious grit. that, plus the fact that Maddie's coming off a title run at Strasbourg (which means she'll only be getting to Paris Saturday/Sunday) means, in my opinion, this is sort of Emma's match to lose. although Maddie has been playing amazing on clay, I just think she'll be just barely tired enough + unused to the conditions for Emma to take it
Navarro d Sabalenka: Aryna's weak spot seems to be American women who fight like hell; Emma beat her in Indian Wells after Aryna justbarely beat Peyton Stearns, and if i'm right about the previous call, then I can see Emma taking out Aryna as well (although I do have her losing to Kasatkina in the QF)
