Prognósticos para Mia Pohankova — Katie Swan

Mia Pohankova meets Katie Swan in the WTA Porto quarterfinal on Friday, September 25, at 13:30 UTC. Their rankings are almost identical, but their routes through the hard-court draw have been anything but.

Pohankova has had to solve more problems

Pohankova beat No. 125 Veronika Podrez 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday, recovering from a break down in the second set. That followed a semifinal run in Caldas da Rainha, where she also beat No. 95 Sinja Kraus. She has played a lot of hard-court tennis lately, and the results give this run some weight.

Swan has been ruthless in Porto, dropping just two games across her wins over Sahaja Yamalapalli and Valentina Steiner. Both, though, were ranked outside the top 300. Her return pressure has been impressive; Pohankova should give her a much firmer test in the rallies.

The first close stretch could tell the story

Pohankova has already shown she can adjust when a set gets awkward, as she did against Podrez. Swan has not needed to do that in Porto. She retired from a match on September 11 because of a back injury, and two quick wins are encouraging without showing how she will feel in a longer contest.

Pohankova’s heavier workload is the risk, particularly after last weekend’s three-set semifinal. Still, her wins against stronger opposition make her the more convincing choice at a price that treats the match as nearly even.