Friday's Newport quarterfinal pits Elizabeth Mandlik against Katie Volynets on grass. Elizabeth Mandlik is rolling — 3 straight wins, 4 of 10 in recent play. Katie Volynets has won 3 in a row and 6 of the last 10 overall.
There is no history here: this is their first tour-level meeting.
Hold strength tells the story — 62.2% versus 57% on first-serve points in Mandlik's favor. Mandlik comes in off a compressed schedule; Volynets comes in off a compressed schedule. This one is close to a coin flip, and the lean toward Mandlik is exactly that — a lean.