Naomi Osaka reached the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 in Madrid in 2019, but hasn’t progressed past the second round since. She’s starting this year’s edition with a match against Lucia Bronzetti, whom she defeated twice last season, including in her opener at Roland Garros. Who do you think will come out on top?
WTA Madrid Day 1 Predictions
Elina Avanesyan vs Caroline Dolehide
Head-to-head: Avanesyan 2-1
Elina Avanesyan will be excited to set foot on her favorite surface again as this is where she can utilize her variety the most. But the quicker conditions in Madrid probably aren’t as suitable and give a power player like Caroline Dolehide a better chance than she usually would have on the dirt. Avanesyan actually lost their only clay-court meeting in Roland Garros qualifying three years ago. She’s made a lot of progress since and might be able to show it here.
Prediction: Avanesyan in 3
Emiliana Arango vs Camila Osorio
Head-to-head: Osorio 1-0
This is an all-Colombian duel between two players who love competing at altitude. Emiliana Arango’s game might not be the most impressive, but she can control the ball well and that usually gives her a decent edge against players who can’t quite do the same in tricky conditions. But against Camila Osorio, she won’t really have that advantage. In many ways, the higher-ranked of the two Colombians plays a better version of the same game.
Prediction: Osorio in 2
Katie Boulter vs Katerina Siniakova
Head-to-head: First meeting
Katie Boulter doesn’t love playing on clay and it was evident even in her recent Billie Jean King Cup performances in the Hague. But she still earned a win on the slicker indoor dirt and was instrumental in helping team Great Britain secure a spot in the Finals. The conditions in Madrid should also be better for her than typical sea-level clay and Katerina Siniakova’s singles form has been nothing more than average. The Czech is the favorite, but it doesn’t look unwinnable for Boulter.
Prediction: Siniakova in 3
Naomi Osaka vs Lucia Bronzetti
Head-to-head: Osaka 2-0
Naomi Osaka can still have some remarkable performances, but hasn’t been able to provide them consistently and can’t find her way back to the top. While she’s far from a clay expert, she massively improved her footwork on this surface last year and played very well in a second-round exit to Liudmila Samsonova on these courts. This is a matchup where she has a lot of space to dictate play with her powerful game and Lucia Bronzetti will be forced to rely on her errors. It likely won’t end well for the Italian.
Prediction: Osaka in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
