The WTA Tour heads to Madrid, Spain, for the next ten days for the Mutua Madrid Open. The 1000-level is one of the biggest lead-ups to the French Open and features an absolutely loaded draw. On Wednesday, Round 1 continues with 24 WTA matches, including Emma Raducanu taking on Maria Lourdes Carle. As always, we at LWOT have the preview and prediction for that match and all happenings around the grounds of WTA Madrid. But who will advance?
WTA Madrid Day 2 Predictions
Sara Sorribes Tormo vs Bernarda Pera
Head-to-Head: Sorribes Tormo 3-1 Pera
Sara Sorribes Tormo holds the 3-1 head-to-head advantage over Bernarda Pera. However, Pera’s only win was their most recent matchup earlier this year in Abu Dhabi. Pera dispatched the Spaniard 6-4 6-1, a level of play she has shown throughout the 2024 season. Pera easily advanced through two rounds of qualifying and should be the slight favorite over Sorribes Tormo, who is just 2-8 in tour-level matches this season.
Prediction: Pera in 2
Wang Xinyu vs Viktoriya Tomova
Head-to-Head: Xiyu 1-1 Tomova
Wang Xinyu is 10-10 this year. An exactly .500 record for the No. 41 ranked player in the world. However, this will be her first clay-court match of the year. In Xinyu’s career, she is just 2-11 in clay-court tour-level matches. On the other hand, Viktoriya Tomova is 12-25 in her clay-court WTA career. While the win percentage isn’t great, her comfortability with this surface gives her the advantage in this match.
Prediction: Tomova in 2
Lucia Bronzetti vs Varvara Gracheva
Head-to-Head:
World No. 46 Lucia Bronzetti begins her WTA Madrid campaign against Varvara Gracheva. She holds a 2-0 head-to-head record over her counterpart, with the most recent win coming in the Bad Homburg quarterfinals last year. Bronzetti is just 4-8 in her last 12 matches and should welcome the change to the clay. Gracheva crushed through qualies and already has eight clay matches under her belt this season (6-2). She will look to battle as many balls over the net as possible, forcing the Italian into drawn-out rallies.
Prediction: Gracheva in 3
Emma Raducanu vs Maria Lourdes Carle
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Emma Raducanu enters the WTA Madrid draw as a wildcard. Last week in Stuttgart, she reached the quarterfinals before falling to Iga Swiatek 7-6 6-3. However, Raducanu’s recent play may be a sign she has turned a corner. She is 6-2 since the start of March with four wins over top 50 players. Maria Lourdes Carle did not drop a set in qualifying earlier this week and brings a seven-match win streak into this bout. Carle loves the clay and will make Raducanu work for every point. I expect this match to go the distance, but there is no reason the Brit shouldn’t be able to find the finish line.
Prediction: Raducanu in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea – USA TODAY Sports
