{"id":1885,"date":"2026-09-03T08:35:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T08:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/09\/03\/us-open-day-4-womens-predictions\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T08:35:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T08:35:33","slug":"us-open-day-4-womens-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/09\/03\/us-open-day-4-womens-predictions\/","title":{"rendered":"US Open Day 4 Women\u2019s Second\u2011Round Match Predictions from LWOT Analysts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"9fece8afa224fd09e54b043d0febfb58\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- NR ATF -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8898941184964366\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"4839033563\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>Day\u202f4 of the US Open ushers in the second round of the women\u2019s singles draw, with sixteen matches slated across the hard\u2011court venues. While the tournament features a full slate of contests, three LWOT contributors\u2014Amanda Bergman, Tope Oke and Ilemona Onekutu\u2014provided detailed predictions for four of the more closely watched pairings. Their analyses draw on recent form, head\u2011to\u2011head history and the unique pressures of a Grand Slam environment.<\/p>\n<h2>Diana Shnaider vs. Karolina Pliskova<\/h2>\n<p>In a clash that pits a rising hard\u2011court talent against a former world No.\u202f1, Diana Shnaider entered the match after a dominant first\u2011round performance and a recent upset win over Jodie Burrage at Wimbledon. Pliskova, who previously bested Shnaider at Wimbledon\u2014a surface that traditionally suits her aggressive baseline game\u2014looked to leverage her experience.<\/p>\n<p>Amanda Bergman noted that the only prior meeting between the two occurred at Wimbledon, where Shnaider prevailed despite Pliskova\u2019s comfort on grass. Bergman highlighted Shnaider\u2019s current hard\u2011court momentum and predicted a three\u2011set victory for the Russian.<\/p>\n<p>Tope Oke focused on Pliskova\u2019s recent struggle with double faults in a three\u2011set escape against Vandewinkel, suggesting that Shnaider\u2019s consistency could expose the Czech\u2019s service vulnerabilities. Oke also favored a two\u2011set win for Shnaider.<\/p>\n<p>Ilemona Onekutu emphasized Shnaider\u2019s confidence after her first\u2011round success and described Pliskova as a player still seeking consistency after injuries and ranking drops. Onekutu aligned with Bergman, forecasting a three\u2011set triumph for Shnaider.<\/p>\n<h2>Taylor Townsend vs. Taylah Preston<\/h2>\n<p>The second\u2011round encounter features American crowd\u2011pleaser Taylor Townsend against Australian wildcard Taylah Preston, who earned a historic first\u2011round win over Alycia Parks. Townsend, known for her serve\u2011and\u2011volley style, has previously demonstrated strong performances on the US Open stage.<\/p>\n<p>Amanda Bergman argued that Townsend benefits from a home\u2011crowd boost and possesses a more varied game than Preston, who relies on baseline power. Bergman predicted a straight\u2011set victory for Townsend.<\/p>\n<p>Tope Oke, however, highlighted Preston\u2019s momentum after becoming the first Australian to reach a US Open second round this year. He suggested the match could evolve into a three\u2011set battle, with Preston potentially extending the contest.<\/p>\n<p>Ilemona Onekutu contrasted Townsend\u2019s net skills and experience with Preston\u2019s youthful energy, concluding that Townsend\u2019s all\u2011court game should be decisive. Onekutu also projected a two\u2011set win for Townsend.<\/p>\n<h2>Kamila Rakhimova vs. Oksana Selekhmeteva<\/h2>\n<p>Kamila Rakhimova, fresh off a first\u2011round upset of Barbora Krejcikova, faces Oksana Selekhmeteva, who has enjoyed a three\u2011match winning streak against Rakhimova earlier in the season. Both players have demonstrated resilience on hard courts.<\/p>\n<p>Amanda Bergman pointed to Rakhimova\u2019s momentum but warned that Selekhmeteva\u2019s recent form and head\u2011to\u2011head advantage could tilt the match in her favor, predicting a three\u2011set win for the Russian teenager.<\/p>\n<p>Tope Oke observed that the two have met four times with roughly even results, noting that neither has ever closed out a match in straight sets. He anticipated a third\u2011set decider, giving a slight edge to Selekhmeteva based on her 2026 performance metrics.<\/p>\n<p>Ilemona Onekutu recalled that Selekhmeteva defeated Rakhimova at the ATX Open earlier in the year, providing a mental advantage. She also forecasted a three\u2011set victory for Selekhmeteva.<\/p>\n<h2>Aryna Sabalenka vs. Polina Iatcenko<\/h2>\n<p>World No.\u202f1 Aryna Sabalenka opened her title defense with a straight\u2011sets win over Camila Osorio, extending her streak of 16 consecutive opening\u2011round straight\u2011set victories at majors. Qualifier Polina Iatcenko, meanwhile, survived a dramatic three\u2011set battle against Renata Zarazua, saving two match points before prevailing.<\/p>\n<p>Amanda Bergman described Sabalenka\u2019s dominant display and labeled Iatcenko\u2019s qualifying run as impressive but insufficient against the top seed, predicting a two\u2011set win for Sabalenka.<\/p>\n<p>Tope Oke highlighted Sabalenka\u2019s ability to recover from a brief second\u2011set wobble against Osorio and warned that maintaining a low error count would be crucial. He also projected a two\u2011set victory for the world number one.<\/p>\n<p>Ilemona Onekutu noted Sabalenka\u2019s continued straight\u2011set success in Grand Slam openers and emphasized that Iatcenko\u2019s first deep run at this level would likely be halted by Sabalenka\u2019s firepower. Onekutu\u2019s prediction aligned with a two\u2011set win for the defending champion.<\/p>\n<p>Collectively, the LWOT analysts leaned heavily toward the higher\u2011ranked or in\u2011form players in each of the four matchups, underscoring the importance of recent momentum, head\u2011to\u2011head history and the ability to manage pressure on the sport\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n<p>As the US Open progresses into its second week, the outcomes of these second\u2011round contests will shape the pathways for the remaining competitors and set the tone for the battles that lie ahead in the later stages of the tournament.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LWOT analysts Amanda Bergman, Tope Oke and Ilemona Onekutu share their forecasts for four key second\u2011round women\u2019s matches at the US Open on Day\u202f4.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1898,1897,1821,1782,1824],"class_list":["post-1885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-1898","tag-grand-slam","tag-match-predictions","tag-us-open","tag-womens-tennis","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1885\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}