6 August
Danyana Yastremska 31/20 | Yulia Putintseva 5/10
This match provides a fascinating clash of styles. Danyana Yastremska is a typical modern-day hardcourt player who adopts an extremely aggressive approach.
It is a mercurial style that reminds me of Jelena Ostapenko and it can result in plenty of unforced errors. But when it works: it works. And she rode that ultra-aggressive style to a career-defining semi-final run at this year’s Aussie Open (beating the likes of Vondrousova and Azarenka along the way).
But the Ukrainian has been largely ineffective since then and could really do with a strong North American hardcourt campaign. She has gone 8-11 since Melbourne and she desperately needs to address her erratic style.
Regularly measured as one of the most aggressive players on tour, the Ukrainian just hits too many errors. She could actually take a leaf out of Ostapenko’s book.
The Latvian is still bonkers crazy but she has learnt how to integrate more control in rallies over the last few years (and the consistency has followed).
This season has been a bit of a renaissance for Kazakh firebrand Yulia Putinseva. The Kazakh baseliner seemed destined to become a fringe WTA player, earning her career in the hinterlands of the tour.
She had lost some of her famous on-court sparks and just seemed a little jaded. But coach Matteo Donati helped to reinject some of that fire and the results have flowed this season.
She was robbed of her belongings on the eve of the ‘Sunshine Double’ and it appears as if that negative event somehow galvanized her. She reached the final 16 in Indian Wells before an excellent quarterfinal run in Miami. She continued the WTA 1000 momentum with another quarterfinal run in Madrid.
And she never lost any steam with the switch to grass, winning her first grass-court title in Birmingham before a 4th round run at SW19 (beating World No.1 Swiatek along the way).
The Verdict: Putintseva to win in straight sets 11/10
I was somewhat surprised to learn that this will be their first career meeting. A defensive baseliner by nature, Putintseva will look to frustrate Yastremska into her customary string of errors.
There’s always the chance that Yastremska blitzes the Kazakh from the back of the court. I just don’t see enough in the Ukrainian’s recent form to suggest she can challenge a very in-form Putintseva.