Cleveland 2023: Women's singles predictions ft. Caroline Garcia vs Peyton Stearns

The second day of the 2023 edition of Tennis in the Land in Cleveland will conclude the second round of the WTA 250 tournament. World No. 7 Caroline Garcia will be the main attraction as she takes on home hope Peyton Stearns.

Without further ado, here are how some of the intriguing match-ups in the second round of Tennis in the Land could pan out:

#1 Caroline Garcia vs Peyton Stearns

Peyton Stearns has had a rough patch on the WTA tour lately

Top seed Caroline Garcia will face off against USA's Peyton Stearns in the second round. Garcia, who had a breakout year in 2022, has cooled off this season as evidenced by her 27-18 win-loss record on the Hologic WTA tour.

She was, however, in scintillating form as she drubbed promising teen Linda Fruhvirtova for the loss of five games in her opener.

Peyton Stearns, on the other hand, is going through a rough patch currently, only managing to win seven of her last 14 competitive matches (including qualifying draw matches).

Perhaps, Garcia will have very little trouble dousing the American's challenge during their Tennis in the Land second-round match with her aggressive groundstrokes and return game.

Pick: Caroline Garcia in straight sets.

#2 Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich

Ekaterina Alexandrova hits a backhand

Fourth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova has had a respectable season for her standards, going 23-14 on the tour this year. Her opponent and 2022 finalist Aliaksandra Sasnovich, meanwhile, has regressed since last year, with her singles ranking tumbling outside of the top 50.

The two met earlier this year in the semifinals of the grasscourt event at s'Hertogenbosch, where Alexandrova came out on top of her Belarusian opponent in straight sets. Their second-round encounter at Tennis in the Land may turn out to be a similar affair, considering the Russian's ability to strike winners with relative ease.

Pick: Ekaterina Alexandrova in straight sets

#3 Jasmine Paolini vs Wang Xinyu

Jasmine Paolini reached the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open last week

Jasmine Paolini experienced a reversal in her fortunes at last week's Cincinnati Open. The Italian qualified for the main draw with some hard-fought wins and then proceeded to beat tour mainstays Marta Kostyuk and Cristina Bucsa to reach the third round. She was then given safe passage into the quarterfinals in Cincinnati following her opponent Elena Rybakina's mid-match retirement due to injury.

She has continued in the same vein at this year's Tennis in the Land, beating Magdalena Frech in straight sets to reach the second round. Her opponent, Wang Xinyu, has won her last eight matches, but it is important to note that seven of them have come in qualifying matches and ITF events (she won the W100 title in Landsville).

Paolini may be put to the test by the young Wang at Tennis in the Land, who is the more in-form player and dynamic at the moment.

Pick: Wang Xinyu in three sets

#4 Sloane Stephens vs Mirra Andreeva

Mirra Andreeva had a good run at this year's Wimbledon

Sloane Stephens has had a mixed year in 2023, accumulating a 21-16 win-loss record on the Hologic WTA tour. Recently, she reached the Round-of-16 in both Cincinnati and Montreal and is looking to do well at the US Open - where she won the title in 2017.

Her opponent Mirra Andreeva, meanwhile, is an up-and-coming talent. She made waves at this year's Wimbledon by qualifying for the main draw, where she upset seeded players like Anastasia Potapova and Barbora Krejcikova to reach the second week.

Even though she lost to Madison Keys in a three-set thriller in her next match, the Russian teen was able to announce herself to the tennis world with aplomb.

Stephens is the more experienced player of the two, but her game can still be matched by the 16-year-old Russian. Both players have a big forehand and provided Andreeva lives up to her hype, the second-round encounter in Tennis in the Land is likely to go down to the wire.

Pick: Mirra Andreeva in three sets.