By Tony Fairbairn
- Aryna Sabalenka [2] v Mayar Sherif
- Maria Sakkari [9] v Irina-Camelia Begu [31]
MADRID, SPAIN – Aryna Sabalenka and Maria Sakkari are aiming to reach the Madrid Open semi-finals in the first quarter-final matches of the tournament.
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Aryna Sabalenka [2] v Mayar Sherif H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Aryna Sabalenka [2] v Mayar Sherif | H2H: First Meeting |
| Madrid Open 2023 | Madrid, Spain |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €161,525 |
| Second on Manolo Santana Stadium (Not before 12:00 BST) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Aryna Sabalenka continues her consistently good start to the season with another quarter-final in Madrid. The Australian Open champion is looking to win her second title in the Spanish capital and prove that she will be a fierce contender for Roland Garros. The 24 year-old is in the most confident form of her career having only lost four matches this season and now Sabalenka looks to use her new-found confidence and consistency to keep momentum on her side.
Standing in Sabalenka’s way is Egyptian Mayar Sherif who before last week’s ITF event in Portugal had only four wins this season with two of them being retirements. However tennis is all about belief and Sherif’s mentality has seen her secure some great wins as she is into her first WTA 1000 quarter-final. Having beaten the likes of Caroline Garcia and Elise Mertens already in this tournament, Sherif is looking to cause another upset and continue her dream week in Spain.
Sabalenka will look to continue to be aggressive, using her serve as the focal point to dictate the tempo of the rallies and take advantage of Sherif’s nerves. Meanwhile Sherif will look to use the slower conditions on Manolo Santana Stadium to her advantage as she looks to use variety to neutralise the rallies and frustrate Sabalenka’s consistent rhythm. This will be a tough match for Sabalenka but her confidence should get her through this match in straight sets even if the second set is a tight and tense affair.
Prediction: Sabalenka in straight sets.
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Maria Sakkari [9] v Irina-Camelia Begu [31] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Maria Sakkari [9] v Irina-Camelia Begu [31] | H2H: Sakkari leads 2-1 |
| Madrid Open 2023 | Madrid, Spain |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €161,525 |
| Fourth on Manolo Santana Stadium (Not before 19:00 BST) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Maria Sakkari is entering her favourite time of year and that was evident with the Greek’s straight sets win over Paula Badosa in the fourth round. This is an important time of season Sakkari with the ninth seed looking for a strong clay court season to inspire her for the rest of the year and gain confidence with a rankings rise within her sights. Now Sakkari looks to make a deep run in Madrid and start her clay court season with a statement performance this week.
Next for Sakkari is Irina-Camelia Begu as the Romanian continues her fantastic record in Madrid. The Romanian is into her third quarter-final in the Spanish capital having beaten the likes of Karolina Muchova and Liudmila Samsonova already this week. A powerful baseline game mixed with consistent court craft, Begu can cause any player trouble and the 31st seed will look to use the altitude to her advantage as she aims for a first semi-final appearance in Madrid.
Sakkari will look to continue to serve well as she looks to use her power to create depth on the court and force Begu into unforced errors. Meanwhile the Romanian will look to use her consistency on both forehand and backhand to transition into attacking patterns of play. This will be a tough match for Sakkari and it could be a match that goes all the way with both players in need of confidence. In the end Sakkari’s physicality will send her into the semi-finals.
Prediction: Sakkari in three sets.
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