Andrea Lazaro Garcia and Anastasiia Sobolieva meet in the second round of WTA Montreux on September 9 at 12:00 UTC. The market leaves little between them, but their routes here were very different: one brisk and controlled, the other long and slightly chaotic.
Clean feet against shifting momentum
Lazaro Garcia returned to clay with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Angela Fita Boluda in 91 minutes. She kept pushing forward on return, improved through the match and avoided turning a comfortable afternoon into unnecessary theatre.
Sobolieva needed two and a half hours to beat Mina Hodzic 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Her return game repeatedly gave her the initiative, yet she surrendered control in the second set and again near the finish; extended doubles duty has since added to her workload.
Lazaro Garcia can own the second serve
The key exchange should come when Sobolieva misses her first delivery. Lazaro Garcia has been stepping inside the baseline, taking time away and using the occasional net approach to stop rallies from settling into Sobolieva’s preferred clay-court rhythm.
Sobolieva’s strong 2026 clay results make this competitive, especially if she lands deep returns early. Still, Lazaro Garcia arrives with fresher legs, calmer recent match management and a clearer way to pressure the serve, making her price the more attractive one.
Prediction: Andrea Lazaro Garcia to win, odds 1.78
