Iga Swiatek
Top seed Iga Swiatek will face the challenge of Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Round of 16 at the Madrid Open
Iga Swiatek was invincible in 2022 and she has kind of replicated her form even this year. However, she has choked in the final stages of some of the tournament in 2023 and she would definitely like to rectify that. Swiatek has won two WTA titles already this year – the Qatar Open and the Stuttgart Open besides reaching the semi-finals of the Indian Wells Masters and finishing as runners-up at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The World No.1 women’s star is coming into this match after registering two comprehensive straight sets wins in the previous rounds. She began her campaign with a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Julia Grabher and followed it up with a commendable win over No.28 seed Bernarda Pera. Swiatek is clearly the favourite to go all the way and clinch the title and it would be a huge upset if she fails to do so.
Alexandrova has been pretty impressive in Madrid and is coming into the match high on confidence. She defeated Alize Cornet in her first encounter and then pulled off a commendable win over 22nd seed Qinwen Zheng despite going down a set. However, her next opponent – Swiatek is levels above anyone she has faced so far, and she has an uphill task in this encounter. It remains to be seen if Alexandrova has the nerves and grit to seal a famous victory.
Date – Tuesday, 2nd May
Court Type – Clay outdoor surface
Telecast – Tennis Channel
Start Time – 12:50 am IST
Location – Madrid, Spain
Match details – Round of 16 match
Swiatek and Alexandrova have played each other twice before on the WTA tour. They know each other’s game very well and both the previous encounters were closely fought with the head-to-head tally currently standing at 1-1. On paper, Swiatek is the clear favourite going into this match both in terms of form and rankings, but we can certainly expect the Russian to pose a tough challenge. It promises to be an intense clash and we are predicting a win for Swiatek in three sets over Alexandrova.
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