We have reached the semifinal stage of the WTA Mutua Madrid Open. Only four women remain to claim this WTA 1000 title. Will it be World #1 Ashleigh Barty? Is Aryna Sabalenka ready to pick things up yet another notch? Let’s look at both semifinal matches and predict who will move on to Friday’s final.
WTA Madrid Semifinal Predictions
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Aryna Sabalenka
Pavlyuchenkova is in the midst of an incredible run here. She began this tournament with dominant wins over Madison Keys and Karolina Pliskova, and impressed against Jennifer Brady and Karolina Muchova as well. On paper, Sabalenka is the better player. The Belorussian is one of the most powerful hitters on tour, and her consistency makes her a threat everywhere. Pavlyuchenkova is playing better tennis right now, and her success against power hitters this week should prepare her well for this matchup.
Prediction: Pavlyuchenkova in 3
Ashleigh Barty vs Paula Badosa
Barty was a dominant force on tour towards the end of 2019, winning in different ways but still winning. Her true breakthrough came at the French Open, and her game on clay has proven nearly-unbeatable. Of course, she took off most of 2020 due to COVID-19, and the Australian has not quite been the same since. She’s still winning on clay, but the matches aren’t quite as straightforward.
Badosa is in the best form of her young career and will crack the Top 50 for the first time next week. She beat Barty on clay last month in Charleston, and the Spaniard should make a real fight of this one. This should be a very close match, and an upset won’t be surprising. Ultimately, though, it’s hard to pick against the World #1.
Prediction: Barty in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
