An exciting day of women’s tennis awaits at Day 5 at the 2019 Mutua Madrid Open. The current Roland Garros champion, the current World No.1, and the current/defending champion of this tournament are just a few names that will be featured in Madrid on Wedbesday.
Mutua Madrid Open Day 5 Predictions
Simona Halep vs Viktoria Kuzmova
Head-to-head record: First meeting
Simona Halep beat Johanna Konta comfortably in her previous round – a match many thought Halep struggle with because Konta was starting to play well.
Kuzmova may be unknown to most, but she has been a dark horse throughout the tournament. She has beaten the 13th seed, Julia Goerges, and home favourite Carla Suarez Navarro without dropping a set. Can she continue her form and beat one of the best female clay court players right now? Will be a big ask and Kuzmova will have to play even better than she has played this week.
This is their first meeting, and it should be a walk in the park for Halep to advance to the next round.
Prediction: Halep in 2
Naomi Osaka vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Head-to-head record: Osaka leads 2-0
Osaka struggled in her previous round and was pushed to three sets before eventually closing it out. Clay is not Osaka’s favorite surface to play on, and could be troubled here by Sasnovich, who beat the 14th seed Annett Kontaveit earlier here at Madrid. A possible upset alert here in this match if Sasnovich plays well, but Osaka is definitely still the favorite.
Prediction: Osaka in 3
Belinda Bencic vs Kateryna Kozlova
Head-to-head record: First meeting
Kozlova had an impressive win by beating Karolina Pliskova in the previous round, but can she keep it up? She came through qualifying and is now on a four match winning streak. Bencic is the favorite coming into this match, but Kozlova definitely has more than half a chance to win this match.
Prediction: Kozlova in 2
Petra Kvitova vs Caroline Garcia
Head-to-head record: Kvitova leads 4-3
Arguably the most enticing match out of the lot. Garcia is a former top 5 player in the world, and Kvitova is the current world number 2. It will be interesting to see two excellent players battling it out for a place in the next round.
Even though their head-to-head suggests a competitive rivalry, this will be their first meeting on clay- a surface Kvitova has played well on. Kvitova is looking for a seventh consecutive win here on clay, and has yet to drop a set throughout the tournament. Kvitova will be tested in this match, but should eventually come through.
Prediction: Kvitova in 2
Main Photo from Getty
