Day 4 at the Monterrey Open saw defending champion Garbine Muguruza come back from a break down in the third set to beat Margarita Gasparyan. However, that was the only third set played in the Monterrey Open yesterday, as Kristina Mladenovic, Victoria Azarenka, and Angelique Kerber won comfortably. Who will advance to the semifinals? Let’s find out!
Monterrey Open Quarterfinal Predictions
Magdalena Rybarikova vs Sachia Vickery
Head to Head: 1-0 Vickery
Magdalena Rybarikova is finding ways to win in Monterrey, as she won another three-setter from a set down, beating Stefanie Voegele this time. Rybarikova did well to save all three break points she faced in the third set to get the victory in two hours and 33 minutes. Sachia Vickery actually played longer than Rybarikova, as she got a very tight win over Nao Hibino in a third set tiebreak, with the match lasting two hours and 52 minutes. Vickery was struggling with a knee injury throughout her win with Hibino, but was able to pull through, barely.
Last year in Monterrey, these two met in the quarterfinals as well, with Vickery dominating in a 6-0 6-3. However, with each win, expect Rybarikova to gain more and more confidence and lift her game. In addition, the state of Vickery’s knee is troubling for her prospects of moving forward in this tournament. Rybarikova gets her revenge.
Prediction: Rybarikova in 2
Kristina Mladenovic vs Garbine Muguruza
Head to Head: Mladenovic 2-0
Defending champion Garbine Muguruza survived a tough challenge from Margarita Gasparyan in Monterrey, winning the match despite not playing her best, which is what great champions do. Meanwhile, Kristina Mladenovic, gaining confidence after a rough start to the season, destroyed Greta Arn in the last round, only losing two games in an easy 6-0 6-2 win. It seems her third set tiebreak win has really spurred Mladenovic to play the high-quality tennis that she is capable of playing.
Mladenovic has won both previous meetings between these two players, although both matches were on clay. This included Kristina’s three-set win over Garbine Muguruza, which produced the famous quote, “I think she speaks 25 languages I heard…” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rget36pl7js), and while the comment was said in jest, given the extremely high intensity in that match, Muguruza will want revenge. And she’ll get it, but barely.
Prediction: Muguruza in 3
Angelique Kerber vs Kirsten Flipkens
Head to Head: 2-0 Kerber
World No. 5 Angelique Kerber has not dropped a set in Monterrey so far, comfortably beating Karolina Muchova last night in straight sets. Kirsten Flipkens has also not dropped a set in Monterrey as she has marched to the quarterfinals. Flipkens has actually not even let up more than three games in a set in her two matches so far, so Kerber will need to be very weary of Flipken’s crafty, all-court game as they battle in Monterrey.
These two have played twice before, both at Wimbledon, with Kerber winning both matches. Flipkens actually got up a set on Kerber in their first matchup at Wimbledon, in 2014, and got to 3-3 in the second set. However, Kirsten only won two games from that point forward as Kerber dominated for the rest of the match. Their second matchup was also tight, with Kerber winning 7-5, 7-5. Expect the sets to be tight this time around too, however, Kerber will get enough balls back in play to force a bundle of unforced errors from Flipkens.
Prediction: Kerber in 2
Victoria Azarenka vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Head to Head: 4-1 Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka has picked up a couple of crucial wins in Monterrey so far, winning two matches in a tournament for only the second time this season. Azarenka has not dropped a set so far, and has not even dropped more than six games in a match. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has been even more impressive, not dropping a set, and winning three of the four sets she has played so far 6-0. Pavlyuchenkova in this form is extremely dangerous, and Azarenka will need to play very well to beat her in this form.
Azarenka has the head to head on her side, winning four of the five matches with Pavlyuchenkova (excluding a walkover). In fact, Azarenka has not lost a completed match against Pavlyuchenkova, as Anastasia’s only win came when Azarenka retired up a set, but down 3-0 in second set. However, Azarenka’s game has fallen quite drastically from when their previous meetings occurred (matchups spanned from 2009 to 2015) and Pavlyuchenkova absolutely annihilated both players she has played so far this tournament. Beating Ivana Jorovic, a very good player, 6-0 6-0 in the previous round shows that Pavlyuchenkova is in this tournament for the long-haul. Pavlyuchenkova wins.
Prediction: Pavlyuchenkova in 3
