The clay-court section of the tennis season is underway, with the WTA Tour in South Carolina for the Charleston Open. Damien Kayat previews Caroline Woziacki v Anhelina Kalinina and Jessica Pegula v Amanda Anisimova in the Ro32.
2024 WTA Tour – WTA 500
Charleston Open
LTP-Daniel Island
Selected Ro32 Matches – Wednesday 3 April
Caroline Wozniacki 57/100 | Anhelina Kalinina 27/20
Caroline Wozniacki will be gunning for revenge this week after Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina dispatched of her in Miami. The Danish former World No.1 has enjoyed a roller-coaster ride since returning to tour-level action.
She showed her chops with a fourth round run at last year’s US Open but really struggled for consistency in the early part of this season. But she looked rejuvenated at Indian Wells, unfortunately having to withdraw from her quarter-final showing with eventual champ Iga Swiatek.
Still, she looked a little leggy in Miami (obviously going down to Kalinina in the round of 32). But this is a tournament that has always been kind to the Dane. She has never failed to reach the quarter-finals of this event, winning the title in 2011 and finishing runner-up in 2009 and 2019.
In fact, that 2019 final was her last appearance in a WTA Tour final. Despite being an avowed hardcourt specialist, Wozniacki’s solid defensive play actually makes her a decent fit for clay. She has reached 11 clay-court finals in her career (despite having a relatively poor Roland Garros record). She needed just 61 minutes to blow away McCartney Kessler and she looks really determined this week.
27-year-old Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina is one of the hardest workers out there and she will feel confident this week after an extremely positive showing in Miami. Kalinina just beat two former World No 1’s- Wozniacki and Sabalenka at the Hard Rock Stadium.
Kalinina is also entering her most comfortable portion of the season. 13 of her 24 ITF titles have come on clay and every major evolutionary step in her career can be traced back to the sticky stuff. She reached her maiden WTA final at the 2021 Budapest Grand Prix.
She then reached the quarter-finals of a WTA 1000 event for the first time at the 2022 Madrid Open. But few could have anticipated her stunning run to last year’s WTA 1000 final in Rome (she was the lowest-ranked Rome finalist since 1985).
Her form has been pretty humdrum this season (she did reach the semi-finals in a pretty lacklustre event in Austin). She will be hoping that her strong showing in Miami was just the appetizer leading into an extremely strong clay-court season.
Verdict: Kalinina to win in three-sets 46/10
This will be just their seconnd meeting following Kalinina’s impressive Miami comeback. Wozniacki is a former champion here and she should feel right at home.
But I think Kalinina’s aggressive style could be difficult for Woznaicki to contain. Kalinina hits her forehands with heavy topspin, which could keep Woznaicki on the backfoot.
Jessica Pegula 49/100 | Amanda Anisimova 31/20
This promises to be an intriguing all-American clash. Things just haven’t quite clicked into place for Jessica Pegula this season. Look, it’s hardly like she has been in disastrous form. She reached the semi-finals in San Diego and she is fresh off a quarter-final run in Miami.
But the Buffalo-native has been a paragon of consistency these last few years and she is yet to reach a final this season. In fact, she has been eliminated by a player ranked lower than her in every single event this year.
Alexandrova blew her away from the back of the court last week and it will be interesting to see how the longer rallies develop in this match. Pegula is renowned for her depth of shot but she can she can sometimes be unsettled by ultra-aggressive players (hence her inability to progress beyond the quarter of a Slam thus far).
Pegula is an accomplished clay-court player, reaching the quarterfinals of Roland Garros and finishing runner-up at the 2022 Madrid Open final. But it certainly isn’t her comfort zone and it will be interesting to see how she handles the transition this week.
It’s crazy to think that Amanda Anisimova has already crept up to 22 years of age. The hard-hitting American was an accomplished junior player, reaching the finals of both the French and US Opens as a girl.
She actually thrashed Coco Gauff in the final of the 2017 junior US Open. And she looked set for a meteoric rise through the ranks after reaching the semi-finals of the 2019 French Open. Her form dipped somewhat before an excellent 2022 campaign that saw her reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
But the aggressive baseliner struggled with mental health issues and decided to take an indefinite leave of absence after an ignominious exit at last year’s Madrid Open. She returned to action earlier this season and once again showed her Grand Slam mettle with a fourth round run at the Aussie Open.
She just obliterated Alzie Cornet with her array of groundstrokes (that backhand side was particularly devastating). Anisimova- at her best- has what it takes to thrive on any surface. She hits powerfully off both wings and possesses incredible movement.
She looked very composed and at ease against Cornet (she has been prone to bouts of self-admonishment when things go astray). Can she hold her nerve this week and take down a really formidable Pegula?
The Verdict: Pegula to win in three sets 32/10
Pegula won their only previous meeting at the 2020 Cincinnati Open. I think this could be a tight affair. Anisimova brutalized Cornet’s weak delivery and I can see her testing Pegula’s serve throughout.
I also think that Anisimova’s backhand down the line could pose some challenges for Pegula. But I ultimately think that Pegula should have the courtcraft to see off Anisimova’s remerging talent.
