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Day 4 of the 2024 Hobart International will see players fighting it out for a spot in the semifinals.
The tournament's most prominent names, Sloane Stephens and Sofia Kenin, both bowed out prior to the quarterfinals. While the former fell at the very first hurdle, the latter was upset in the second round.
The top two seeds here, Elise Mertens and Emma Navarro, continue to navigate their way through the draw with relative ease. The two are on track to meet in the final on Saturday.
With the Australian Open just around the corner, players will be keen to perform well here and carry forward that momentum. With that in mind, here are the predictions for all the quarterfinal fixtures set for Day 4 of the Hobart International:
#1 - Elise Mertens vs Arantxa Rus
Elise Mertens continued to cruise through the draw as she beat Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2, 6-3 in the second round. She bested Danielle Collins with the exact scoreline in the opening round as well.
Rus needed three sets to get past Linda Fruhvirtova in her opener, but played a lot better to defeat Varvara Gracheva 6-2, 6-3 in the second round. The 33-year old claimed her maiden WTA title last year after being on the tour for 15 years, and reached a career-high ranking of No. 41 too.
While the two haven't played against each other on the WTA Tour before, Mertens has won both of their previous encounters at the ITF level. The Belgian is also a two-time champion at the Hobart International and loves competing here. She'll be favored over Rus to make it to the next round.
Predicted winner: Elise Mertens
#2 - Zhu Lin vs Daria Saville
Following a straight sets win over Lucia Bronzetti, Zhu staged a comeback to oust Caroline Dolehide in three sets. She was down a break in the decider, but rallied to score a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Saville stunned former Hobart International and Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the second round. The Australian notched up a 7-6 (3), 6-1 win to knock out her opponent.
Saville one-upped Zhu the only other time they played, which was at the 2016 Hong Kong Open. The latter has come a long way since then and has played some of her best tennis since last year.
Saville, too, has worked hard to get back to her former level after numerous injury setbacks. Zhu will be the favorite based on her recent results, but one can't rule out the Australian completely.
Predicted winner: Zhu Lin
#3 - Emma Navarro vs Viktoriya Tomova
Tomova sent 2022 French Open semifinalist Martina Trevisan packing in the first round. She then followed it up with a dominant 6-0, 6-1 win over Tatjana Maria in the second round. It's her first quarterfinal on the WTA Tour since the 2022 Eastbourne International.
Navarro continued her good run of form to beat Magdalena Frech 6-3, 6-3 and make the last eight at the Hobart International. Having reached the semifinals in Auckland last week, the American will be keen to repeat the feat.
While Tomova has done a great job to make it this far, it's tough to see her getting past Navarro. The 22-year old is playing quite well, and at a level that's considerably higher than her next opponent's.
Predicted winner: Emma Navarro
#4 - Yuan Yue vs Yulia Putintseva
Yuan came through the qualifiers and then scored a gritty three-set win over 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the opening round. She next faced fourth seed and compatriot Wang Xinyu and defeated her 7-5, 6-3.
Putintseva, too, fought her way through the qualifying rounds of the Hobart International to reach the main draw. She was on the verge of losing in the first round against Elisabetta Cocciaretto as she trailed 6-0, 3-0, but staged a fantastic comeback to advance futher.
Putintseva took on fifth seed Marie Bouzkova in the second round and needed three sets to get past her as well. In contrast to Yuan, the Kazakh has more experience under her belt on the WTA Tour.
That hasn't stopped Yuan from beating her opponents so far. This could prove to be another match that could go down to the wire, in which case the Chinese is likely to have the upper hand.
Predicted winner: Yuan Yue
