The Gstaad Open tennis tournament remains stuck in the second round on Friday, which is where we’ll pick up our tennis picks. That’s hard to believe, but the weather in Switzerland has been unmerciful all during the week. The whole first round still hasn’t finished. Four matches remain uncompleted. They will start at 10 a.m. local time in Gstaad on Friday, weather permitting.
Our first three tennis picks for the event have gone through, though, but it hasn’t been a particularly good start for us. We went 1-2 with a particularly bad loss. We had Mona Barthel to beat Viktorija Golubic, but that didn’t happen. Barthel won the first set 6-2 before losing the next two. We also had Jelena Jankovic, who was a big favorite over Rebeka Masarova. However, Jankovic fell flat on her face. She, too, won the first set (6-1), but then lost the next two sets. She won only six games total the rest of the way. Then we also had Katerina Siniakova, who did manage to get us on the board. She beat Patty Schnyder in three sets.
On Friday, the tournament directors will try to play second-round matches with those first-round winners late in the day, in order to get closer to the normal schedule. The tournament will try to complete its quarterfinals on Saturday for sure. From there, it will depend on the time of day. If the four quarterfinals end relatively early on Saturday, they could stick in the two semifinals late in the afternoon or early in the evening. If they can’t, two semifinals will be played very early on Sunday, with the final being late in the afternoon.
Let’s look at second-round matches on Friday:
Timea Bacsinszky vs. Mandy Minella
Bacsinszky is a former French Open semifinalist, from 2015. She is a very solid player on clay. Her defensive game, court coverage, variety of shot, and overall commitment to point construction make her a very tough player to beat on this particular surface. Minella is a moderately talented player who – even on the days when she plays well – has a very tough time winning close matches, especially when protecting third-set leads. This match could go three sets instead of two, but it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Bacsinszky winning it in the end. Take her with your tennis picks in this spot.
Pick: Bacsinszky in straight sets
Amra Sadikovic vs. Johanna Larsson
This is a matchup of a Swiss player, Sakikovic, versus a seeded player – Larsson is sixth in the draw. You can argue that Larsson’s credentials as a more established veteran will carry her in this match, and that might be true. However, Sadikovic played a competitive match against Serena Williams at Wimbledon. She was outplayed, but she did not embarrass herself against the player who then won her 22nd major championship. Sadikovic has a textured and nuanced game. Larsson will have to hit many different kinds of shots to win. Sadikovic will be highly motivated to do well in her home country. In what figures to be an extremely close match, a bet on Sadikovic – while debatable – is certainly reasonable. Take Sadikovic with your tennis picks.
Pick: Sadikovic in three sets
Rebeka Masarova vs. Anett Kontaveit
This is a match which is very hard to predict. Masarova, a Swiss player, used the home crowd to upend second-seeded Jelena Jankovic in a noticeable upset. What was really impressive about Masarova’s win is that she was blasted away in the first set, but then rallied to win the next two sets. It’s a confidence builder to win in any fashion, but winning in three can sometimes be even better. Kontaveit is not an elite player, but she has made a tour semifinal and quarterfinal earlier this season. Those results came on non-clay surfaces, but they still indicate that Kontaveit has plenty of game. Masarova remains a player ranked outside the top 400. She entered this event at 797. Her win over Jankovic should move her dozens if not hundreds of places upward in the rankings, but that still locks her outside 400 or 350. This is still Kontaveit’s match to lose, so take her with your tennis picks in this spot.
Pick: Kontaveit in three sets
