Saturday Final
Preview in Friday’s Set Points post HERE.
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Saturday Final poll
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Friday SF matches
Simona Halep vs. Belinda Bencic: This will be the pair’s second match of the year with Bencic winning in Dubai, 4-6 6-4 6-2. Halep is the favourite on clay against most players on the tour but I wouldn’t write off BB who is damn tough to beat when she’s on a roll. Just look what happened in Dubai! There were definitely rolly vibes in Bencic’s win over Osaka and that’s she feeling good. Intrigued to see if Bencic can at least get a set from Halep who has been a perfect eight out of eight for the week so far.
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Friday SF polls
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Thursday QF matches
Naomi Osaka vs. Belinda Bencic: This match-up intrigues me. In their only previous meeting at the tour level, Bencic beat Osaka in Indian Wells earlier this year, 6-3 6-1. I thought Bencic was super sharp vs. Kuznetsova in the second round in what was a great match and my favourite of the tournament so far. Clearly she was feeling it too against Kozlova, dropping just two games. BB’s level has remained pretty high since Dubai while is great to see. I thought Osaka played a quality match against Cibulkova in the first round and she seems to be in a good head space right now. I guess a slight edge to Osaka but mostly on the fence. I feel like this could be a great match?
Simona Halep vs. Ash Barty: This will be a fourth meeting in less than a year between Halep and Barty. Barty scored a first win over Halep in Sydney at the start of the year although that comes with a bit of a caveat as it was Halep’s first match of the year. It will be their first meeting on clay which is bound to work in Halep’s favour. Barty’s 11 match winning streak is definitely in jeopardy with this one after Halep showed terrifyingly good form to destroy Kuzmova on Wednesday. Barty’s still learning on the clay but I think her tennis IQ and success on the hard courts is pulling through to the clay. I fancy Barty to nick a set. Halep for the win though.
Sloane Stephens vs. Petra Martic: Their last meeting in Melbourne was one of the hidden gems of this year and firmly fixed in my best matches countdown for 2019. A great, great match that Stephens won in two tiebreak sets. Interesting to see how they stack up now with Martic clearly riding a wave of confidence and Stephens perhaps slowly getting there with Sven Groeneveld in tow. On form, this is definitely Martic’s for the taking. Stephens has had to work hard for her last two victories though which no doubt has gone a long way to improving her confidence.
Petra Kvitova vs. Kiki Bertens: A rematch of last year’s final and with both in dreamy form, it *could* be a cracker! The pair played just two weeks ago in Stuttgart where Kvitova sped away in the decider with her best level of the entire tournament to win, 7-6(3) 3-6 6-1. Kvitova was so sharp in ever department vs. Garcia. If she continues at this level, the rest of the field are in trouble! I keep repeating it over and over again but Bertens has developed into such a well-rounded player and she’s a title contender for Roland Garros in my eyes. Kvitova the slight favourite after that performance against Garcia but never a guarantee that she’ll come out and do it again on Thursday. I’ll stand by my Draw Challenge champ and go for Kiki.
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Thursday QF polls
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Wednesday R3 matches
Simona Halep vs. Viktoria Kuzmova: Very intrigued by this match. Kuzmova’s having a great week with top 30 wins over Goerges and CSN. I was particularly impressed with how well she played at the end of her match against CSN. The serve is a weapon on this surface and I adore her groundstrokes. Halep had to work hard to edge a tight opening set vs. Konta, playing the big points well, before cruising through the second set.
I would actually tag this with a mild upset alert as Kuzmova is a big, big hitter that is the type of player in these conditions that can start slapping winners and put Halep under considerable pressure. They’ve never played before so i’m wondering who will be more bothered by the other’s game! Halep obviously the favourite with all her clay court experience but i’d say keep an eye on Kuzmova. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to me that this could be her big breakthrough result.
Kiki Bertens vs. Anastasija Sevastova: Bertens and Sevastova are set to meet for the third time on tour with their third consecutive match in Madrid! All three of them have been at different stages of the tournament – Sevastova won in the QFs in 2017, 6-3 6-3, and Bertens won in the second round last year, 6-1 6-4. I’d take Kiki in this one who I actually picked as my champ for the tournament. I don’t really know what to expect from Sevastova who has been a bit up and down this year but I guess in that sense she is dangerous. Bertens has been so, so solid, both physically and mentally.
Petra Kvitova vs. Caroline Garcia: Kvitova and Garcia will meet for the second time this year with Kvitova producing a superb performance in their most recent meeting in Miami to win in straights. Kvitova struggled at times in her second rounder in Madrid against Mladenovic but found her first serve when it really counted to avoid P3tra making an appearance.
Garcia won B2B matches for just the third tour level tournament this year with one of her most impressive recent displays, finding the courage to be more aggressive to fend off a valiant effort from Cirstea. I remember the last time Kvitova and Garcia met in Miami going for Garcia having been impressed with her performance prior to that match. I kind of feel the same with this one too! Garcia’s issue this year has been stringing the wins together and this is a big match as she’s yet to make a QF this year. In what will be their first ever meeting on clay, I think Garcia has a good shot here at breaking new ground in 2019.
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Tuesday R2 matches
Simona Halep vs. Johanna Konta: The last time that Halep and Konta played, Konta was a top ten player. I think Konta’s had a much better year in 2019, spearheaded by her wins in Fed Cup and managing to come out on the winning side of some epics. In fact, Konta has won nine of 11 three set matches so far this year. Konta reached the final in Rabat last week, her first WTA-level final on clay. Impressively, she won her first rounder against Alison Riske in Madrid after losing the final in Rabat the day before.
While the conditions will suit Konta, they’ve also been favourable to Halep who has twice won the title in Madrid. While I think Konta will be tired from Rabat, I think she will bring some confidence too. Going up against the best on clay will be a marker to see where Konta’s game is at. Still going for Simona.
Caroline Garcia vs. Sorana Cirstea: No surprise to see Garcia and Cirstea into R2 with both having excellent records in Madrid. Garcia reached the SFs last year, while Cirstea reached back-to-back QFs in 2016 and 2017. Garcia continued her superb record over Hsieh with a straight sets win on Saturday, while Cirstea came from a set down to knock off a seed in Keys. Cirstea’s not had a great year but I think she’s at her strongest on the clay. Garcia’s had some great wins this year but has seemingly been unable to build momentum and string the good performances together as she is yet to reach a QF in 2019. I think Cirstea is a dangerous player on clay in Madrid but i’d give the edge to Garcia with the stronger serve.
Angelique Kerber vs. Petra Martic: Match of the day and pleased it’s late so I can watch it live! Martic was fantastic against Muguruza, mixing aggression with variety to score her first top 20 win of the year. I didn’t see much of Kerber’s straight sets win over Tsurenko but she’ll likely have to step it up against an in-form opponent. The pair haven’t played each other in nearly seven years! Definitely an upset alert with Martic riding a six match winning streak and Kerber never doing that well in Madrid with just one quarter-final in six appearances. If Martic plays like she did against Muguruza then she’s very dangerous. What the hell, i’ll take a whirl with Martic.
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Tuesday R2 polls
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Monday R2 matches
Kiki Bertens vs. Jelena Ostapenko: The pair have played just once before on the tour with Bertens winning in the first round at Wimbledon back in 2016. I was surprised by Ostapenko’s speedy, 6-1 6-2 victory over Pavs which snapped a five match losing streak. Bertens produced yet another solid and professional display against an increasingly wild, Siniakova. I can imagine these fast courts suit Ostapenko so Bertens will have to have her wits about her. Still, i’d favour Bertens with a much more reliable serve and increasingly consistent and contained game.
Anastasija Sevastova vs. Mihaela Buzarnescu: Ring the bells for a first career match-up! Sevastova recovered from a bagel opening set (!) in her first round match to beat Flipkens. Buzarnescu enjoyed a birthday win, just her fifth on the tour this year. I know Sevastova was bothered by a back injury pre-Fed Cup but has played the last three weeks so seems OK? I thought Buz showed some positive signs in Charleston and that she just needs more matches to build momentum and find her mojo. Sevastova the fave but a small nugget of hope for Buz that she could spring an upset with Sevastova hardly the picture of consistency so far this year.
Sloane Stephens vs. Victoria Azarenka: This will be a fourth encounter between Stephens and Azarenka in the last 14 months. Stephens has won all three of those matches which took place on hard courts with their most recent clash at the US Open ending in a 6-3 6-4 win for Sloane. Since that respective clash, Stephens has rather gone off the boil. The American has now taken on Sven Groeneveld as her full-time coach. Azarenka has scored some big wins in the last month or two and seems to be turning, or have turned a corner. I would have gone for Azarenka here even with the recent match-up and being on clay which I think favours Stephens. It was clear from her first rounder against Kasatkina that Azarenka was under-the-weather so we’ll have to see whether she has recovered.
Petra Kvitova vs. Kristina Mladenovic: It seems that Mlads is having a bit of resurgence with quarter-final showings in Monterrey and Istanbul, and now three wins against top 100 players to reach the second round of Madrid from qualifying. Is this linked to her new coaching partnership with Sascha Bajin? The Frenchwoman had been struggling for a long time so it definitely seemed a good decision to get a coach on board. I feel like Kvitova has quite a pressure in Madrid as one of the favourites and the defending champion. She played a very solid match to beat Kenin on Saturday. Kvitova leads the H2H, 5-1 and i’m not feeling an upset alert with this one.
Ash Barty vs. Danielle Collins: Another first career match-up! Both cruised through their openers in Madrid. Collins was especially impressive as she blew Zvonareva off the court for a time. Despite the negativity in the past from Barty about the clay, I think she can do well on this surface. I’m generally interested to see more of both players on clay so looking forward to this match. I’d go with Barty based on the way she is able to problem solve against attacking players like Collins, but I do think it’s a dangerous match-up. Barty in 3.
Carla Suárez Navarro vs. Viktoria Kuzmova: Kuzmova finally managed to break her duck against Goerges in the first round having previously never won a set against the German player in four encounters. Suárez Navarro has been a bit quiet this year but always seems to play well in Madrid and got off to a good, solid start against Sakkari who said after her match that she had a tough time trying to adjust the new conditions having just won the title in Rabat. I’m surprised they put this on Manolo Santana as I thought I had read before that CSN preferred the outside courts. Still, CSN has a great record in Madrid and has made at least the last 16 for the past five years. I’d guess the conditions would suit the big-hitting, Kuzmova. I’m going CSN though.
Belinda Bencic vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova: A nice match to end the day with the pair tied at 1-1 in their H2H. Both won their openers in Madrid with Kuznetsova knocking out a top ten player in Sabalenka with a performance that showcased her experience and comfort on the clay. I’m intrigued by this match and would like to see more of BB. I know she’s not a fan of the clay although these conditions in Madrid are funky. 50-50 clash IMO and I was rather sold on Kuznetsova’s performance against Sabalenka so will take a whirl with Sveta.
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Monday R2 polls
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Sunday R1 matches
Naomi Osaka vs. Dominika Cibulkova: Osaka leads the H2H, 2-0 with identical 6-2 6-1 victories in Tokyo in 2016 and 2018. I’d fancy Osaka to seal the hat-trick. Cibulkova has won just one WTA main draw match all year so despite all her experience and giant-killing pedigree, I would be be surprised if she gets the win here.
Julia Goerges vs. Viktoria Kuzmova: Another one-sided H2H here as Goerges has yet to drop a set to Kuzmova in four matches which have all taken place in the last 18 months. This feels like Kuzmova’s best shot at a win over Goerges, who was forced to pull out of her opener in Stuttgart with a neck injury. While she did post on social media that she is pain-free at the moment, Goerges’s form has been disappointing since Auckland. I think this these courts and conditions are perfect for Goerges so somewhat torn. I’d take a whirl and go for Kuzmova.
Wang Qiang vs. Donna Vekic: 50-50 match, i’m going for the upset with Vekic.
Belinda Bencic vs. Alison Van Uytvanck: Nice match-up, might try and catch some of this clash up first. Bencic won their most recent encounter at Indian Wells earlier this year. I think playing on clay neutralises the match-up as AVU is much more comfortable on this surface. On the fence. Going with BB in three sets.
Garbiñe Muguruza vs. Petra Martic: Very interesting match this one. Martic arrives in Madrid having won nine of her last ten matches, most recently winning the title in Istanbul. I couldn’t believe it was Martic’s first WTA-level tournament! Muguruza also won a title recently in Monterrey but didn’t have the best of times in Fed Cup, losing both her matches to Flipkens and Bonaventure in three sets. This will be Muguruza’s first match on clay this year. While i’m a big fan of Mugsy on clay, she’s never looked comfortable at home in Madrid. I’m going for Martic.
Karolina Pliskova vs. Dayana Yastremska: Pliskova has been fighting a viral illness since Miami. The Czech player did compete in Stuttgart where she came up short in a high quality three setter against Azarenka. Yastremska can be a handful but has been a bit quiet on tour since winning Hua Hin. Pliskova, while perhaps not 100%, normally handles these types of threats professionally.
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Sunday R1 polls
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Saturday R1 matches
Manolo Santana Court
Ash Barty vs. Daria Gavrilova: An all-Aussie clash to open up main draw action at the 2019 Madrid Open. In their only previous match on clay, Gavrilova beat Barty in three tight sets in Strasbourg, 6-7 6-7(3) 7-6(5). It’s hard to look past a Barty win when you look at the form book. It’s been a really tough year for Dasha who has won just two matches all year. Even though Barty has publicly said that clay isn’t her favoured surface, I feel that there are elements of her game that match up well to this surface. I thought her results in clay in 2019 were decent – her five losses came against Sevastova, Wozniacki, Sharapova, Pavlyuchenkova and S.Williams. Not too shabby.
Aryna Sabalenka vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova: Intriguing match as Kuznetsova plays a top ten player for the first time in her comeback in 2019. Kuznetsova came back in Lugano and is 4-3 in the clay so far this year. Sabalenka has been unable to maintain her incredible form during the second half of 2018. There’s definitely a sense that she is feeling that expectation upon her shoulders. Sabalenka has few points to defend over the remainder of the clay court season which I hope will help her. This is a 50-50 match for me. Despite the lack of matches this year, I think Kuznetsova is still capable of causing havoc on the clay and there is no doubt that Sabalenka is vulnerable.
Daria Kasatkina vs. Victoria Azarenka: Match of the day for me! Kasatkina scored her best win of the year over Mertens in Stuttgart. Still, I feel like it will take some time for Kasatkina to rebuild her confidence. Azarenka’s form compared to January is night and day. The Belarusian has beaten Kerber and Pliskova, both in three thrilling sets, in her last two WTA tournaments. Unfortunately injuries caused her to pull out of her next match. I’m really sold on Azarenka’s level right now. I don’t think clay is her best surface but I do tend to think she’s going to be too strong for a wavering, Kasatkina right now. I’m hoping for a competitive match 🤞.
Petra Kvitova vs. Sofia Kenin: Kvitova begins her title defence in the first of the night session matches. I think this is a really tough opener for Kvitova. Kenin’s been a tad quiet since reaching the final of Acapulco. The American though has shown real quality this year with a title run in Hobart. I really sat up and took notice with her performances against Halep (AO) and Svitolina (IW), barely coming up short in both. Kvitova and Kenin have played once before in Miami last year with Kvitova winning in three sets. Kvitova seems an obvious favourite for Madrid but for some reason, i’m not feeling it. It all seems too obvious! I’d tag this with a mild upset alert. Not brave enough to go for Kenin but I feel like she could push this the distance.
Kiki Bertens vs. Katerina Siniakova: Last year’s finalist opens her campaign in the final match of the day on the Manolo Santana Court. Siniakova has a leading H2H record having won their only previous match in Beijing last year, 6-4 6-3. A dangerous match for Bertens… in fact all these first rounders are dangerous for the seeds because there are quality players lurking left, right and centre. I’m high on Bertens. She’s talked about her game not clicking this year but I feel she has been pretty solid. Bertens has yet to lose a match to a player ranked outside the world’s top 50 this year. She’s hasn’t quite found her form and momentum at one tournament aside from her title run in St. Petersburg. Definitely one to watch in Madrid and on clay generally.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich vs. Anett Kontaveit: This will be Kontaveit and Sasnovich’s ninth (!) encounter with the pair currently split at 4-4 in their H2H. Sasnovich won quite convincingly at the start of the year in Melbs, 6-3 6-3. Sasnovich’s year has gone a tad flat after a great start down under and this is set to be her first outing on the tour since Miami, a first match in nearly two months. Kontaveit meanwhile has been building confidence and played quality tennis at her last three tournament. Kontaveit is very comfortable on the clay and I think her recent form will have an impact in this match-up.
Caroline Garcia vs. Hsieh Su-Wei: I was surprised to learn that Garcia has a 3-0 H2H lead over Hsieh. Their only clay court match was back at Roland Garros in 2017 (remember that one?!) when Garcia won 9-7 in a decider. I think this is a really intriguing match with a funky clash in styles. Instinct is Garcia in 3.
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Saturday R1 Polls
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Madrid Draw Challenge
R1
Osaka
Sorribes Tormo
Mertens
Kontaveit
Sabalenka
Bencic
Zhang
Pliskova
Halep
Konta
Suárez Navarro
Kuzmova
Barty
Collins
Putintseva
Svitolina
Stephens
Azarenka
Zheng
Wozniacki
Vekic
Kostyuk
Martic
Kerber
Bertens
Pavlyuchenkova
Tomljanovic
Sevastova
Keys
Garcia
Strycova
Kvitova
R2
Osaka
Kontaveit
Bencic
Pliskova
Halep
Suárez Navarro
Barty
Svitolina
Azarenka
Wozniacki
Vekic
Kerber
Bertens
Sevastova
Keys
Kvitova
R3
Osaka
Pliskova
Halep
Barty
Azarenka
Vekic
Bertens
Kvitova
QF
Osaka
Halep
Azarenka
Bertens
SF
Halep
Bertens
F
Bertens
😲🤣
Moo's Tennis Blog 