The Gstaad Open tennis tournament steams forward into the second round and so do our tennis picks. We were only able to get through two matches on Tuesday due to delays, so we’re fairly behind on the schedule. On Tuesday, we saw Timea Bacsinszky get by Sara Sorribes in two sets. The latter was only able to win a total of five games in the matchup. We also saw one upset on the day as Bethanie Mattek Sands fell to Johanna Larsson. Larsson won in straight sets as Mattek Sands won a total of seven games in the matchup.
Part of this very brief European clay-court interlude after Wimbledon and before the move to hardcourts for the North American summer plus the Olympic Games in Rio. It’s an odd time of the year, the most unusual on the whole calendar, but the tennis structure has not figured out another alternative for clay-court events in Switzerland and Sweden. At any rate, clay specialists get one more chance to pick up rankings points and money before moving to cement. Here is a look at our tennis picks for Wednesday.
Mona Barthel vs. Viktorija Golubic
Barthel is seeded seventh here, and while she has not had a particularly notable season, sometimes matches have to be predicted based not on one player’s strengths, but on the quality of her opponent. This is just such a case. Golubic has not been able to make substantial inroads on the tour this year. Barthel would be especially vulnerable in a number of situations, but Golubic does not seem to be the kind of opponent who will take her out. Go with Barthel in this match, if only because Golubic is not a compelling alternative in the bigger picture. Barthel is the better choice for your tennis picks.
Pick: Barthel in straight sets
Patty Schnyder vs. Katerina Siniakova
(First-Round Match Postponed By Darkness/Weather)
This is a matchup of the old versus the new. It’s somewhat surprising that Patty Schnyder is still on the WTA Tour at this point in her life. She is 37 years old and will turn 38 later this year. Then again, nothing should be too surprising with Schnyder. She always has been one of the oddballs of women’s tennis. She received tutelage from shady figures who got into trouble. She joined movements and causes which were very mysterious. She went down a very dark road at points in her life. Whispers of speculation were never too far from her. At this stage in her journey as a tennis professional, the sport is probably a fun way for her to simply enjoy life and recall the thrill of being the top-15 player she used to be. That’s a good thing for her on a personal level, but it’s very different from being the kind of thing which will enable her to win tennis matches. Siniakova is a young and hungry player who is learning on the job. Going up against Schnyder’s lefty strokes might be tricky in the first five or six games of the match, but as long as she doesn’t get blown out early, she should be able to settle into the match and force Schynder to do a lot more running. Take Siniakova with your tennis picks here.
Pick: Siniakova in straight sets
Rebeka Masarova vs. Jelena Jankovic
This is a match which involves another player of Swiss nationality. That’s Masarova, whose name suggests a different heritage but has settled in Switzerland with her family. A Swiss-based tournament is trying to give one of its players a showcase, but Masarova is ranked 797. She’ll get the audience behind her but that doesn’t mean a whole lot when you consider that the talent gap in this situation is quite wide. Jankovic isn’t that strong a player anymore, but she is the No. 2 seed at this event. There is no doubt that Jankovic will win here, so take her with your tennis picks. This should end in straight sets and rather quickly.
Pick: Jankovic in straight sets
