Monica Niculescu (Rou) vs. Margarita Gasparyan (Rus) – Result prediction (16.10.2019)

Preview and players comparison.

Niculescu’s only WTA quarterfinal since January 2018 came at Shenzhen in this January, beating Ostapenko and Kr. Pliskova. In a match-up where both players have suffered knee issues in the recent past, Gasparyan is the slight favorite to take a second win off Niculescu; won at 125k Limoges in November 2018.

Margarita Gasparyan came back from the brink to beat Jil Teichmann, who has won two WTA titles in the season, 2-6, 7-6, 6-3, for just her fourth win since the end of the grass season. The Russian posted a quarterfinal at Luxembourg last year as this tournament was part of her strong 2018 year-end finish. Gasparyan, who was just four ranking places within reentering the top 50 earlier this season, checked it at Luxembourg with a 12-19 main draw win-loss. Throughout the entire 2019, the 25-year-old has managed back-to-back wins just thrice, at St. Petersburg qualifyings, Istanbul (SF), and Madrid qualifyings.

Monica Niculescu is past the first round of Luxembourg for the first time since winning the tournament in 2016 after Alison Van Uytvanck rolled her left ankle. The Belgian, who defeated the Romanian just a few days ago during her title run at Tashkent Open, retired at the 41st minute while leading the first set 4-2. It would count as Niculescu’s eighth-only main draw win on tour in the season. The 32-year-old qualifier holds an 18-6 career record at Luxembourg. Prior to her title run, she was also the runner-up in back-to-back editions of 2011 and 2012, falling short to Victoria Azarenka and Venus Williams in straight sets.

Match Info.

Competition: WTA – SINGLES: Luxembourg (Luxembourg), hard (indoor) – 1/8-finals.
Start: 16.10.2019, 10:00 UTC.