It’s the fourth day at the WTA 1000 in Madrid and things are heating up. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova might have a real chance in her comeback against struggling top ten player Daria Kasatkina whilst a big-hitting affair between Anna Kalinskaya and Elena Rybakina promises plenty of quality. As always at LWOT, we’ve looked to predict these matches and more.
WTA Madrid Day 4 Predictions
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Daria Kasatkina
Head-to-head: Kasatkina 3-1 Pavlyuchenkova
With a first serve that basically gets the point started, things have never been easy for Daria Kasatkina even when she was playing her best tennis. She grinds out every point she can whilst using her forehand to keep players that underestimate her honest. She had a terrible spell on hard using this consistency and forehand offense at the start of the season but she’s had better luck on clay where she’s most comfortable bossing points.
Even on clay though, better players have found her out–both Jabeur and Badosa won more than 50% of their first serve return points against her this month. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is not in the same league but she’s a big hitter–there’s certainly danger for Kasatkina if she’s lacking in confidence. She should be comfortable enough to get the win but we can see this one being close.
Prediction: Kasatkina in 3
Alize Cornet vs Ekaterina Alexandrova
Head-to-head: Alexandrova 1-0 Cornet
It’s been a pretty rough year for Alize Cornet. She hasn’t really gotten going, winning only four matches this season and losing all five of her top 100 match-ups. These conditions don’t suit her to a tee either so she won’t have much reason to be excited about this round of 64.
Conversely, Ekaterina Alexandrova treats the courts of Madrid like they’re hard-courts. Her booming shots fly through the court fast enough to negate the kick of the clay–she should have more than enough to show her semifinal run here last year was no fluke.
Prediction: Alexandrova in 2
Bianca Andreescu vs Xiyu Wang
Head-to-head: First meeting
Is it too early for Bianca Andreescu to be coming back from injury? The fact she’s back so quickly would suggest the recovery process wasn’t too gruelling with the Canadian suggesting she was lucky she didn’t come off worse after sustaining the injury.
With her healthy presumably okay, we have to take notice of the fact Andreescu loves a fast ball. Perhaps in slower conditions, Xiyu Wang might be able to work her lefty magic but, at this altitude, Andreescu should be in her element–she might take a set to shed the rust though.
Prediction: Andreescu in 3
Elena Rybakina vs Anna Kalinskaya
Head-to-head: 1-1
Despite sustaining a back injury in Stuttgart, Elena Rybakina claims she’s ready for action. She shouldn’t be underestimated in these conditions if she’s playing well–her serve will be boosted and both wings should be lethal even with the gritty surface underfoot.
Anna Kalinskaya might be able to find a way of taking advantage of the higher bouncing balls for a set but a win here is a tough ask given how solid Rybakina should be on serve. There may be opportunities but the Kazakhstani should continue her fine form this season.
Prediction: Rybakina in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
