The American Canadian duo of Townsend and Fernandez will take on Haddad Maia and Azarenka in the semi-finals of women’s doubles at the Madrid Open
Haddad Maia and Azarenka are not regular doubles partners and they have formed a makeshift pairing for the Madrid Open. While both of them are established singles players, they do not have enough experience of playing together. Despite the barriers, the duo have done well to reach the quarter-finals stage.
They began their campaign with a bang, registering an incredible victory against third seeds Schuurs and Krawczyk. It was an intense match which went down to the third set tie-breaker with Haddad Maia and Azarenka eventually winning 6-2, 3-6, 10-7.
They got lucky in their second round and received a walkover without having to take the court after their opponents McNally and Kalinskaya withdrew due to injury. In the Quarter-finals, the duo show their class once again and beat Badosa/Mattek-Sands to set up a Semi-final encounter against Townsend/Fernandez.
Townsend and Fernandez are young but a more experienced doubles pair than their counterparts. They began their campaign at the Madrid Open with a huge upset by defeating second seeds Kichenok/Ostapenko 6-2, 6-4. The American-Canadian pair followed it up with another straight-sets victory in the next round against Kalashnikova and Sizikova. In the quarter-finals, the duo got the better of Hseih and Strycova to progress to the semis. Townsend and Fernandez have the ability to go all the way and clinch the title but there is certainly no room for complacency.
Date – Saturday, 6th May
Court Type – Clay outdoor surface
Telecast – Tennis Channel
Start Time – To be announced
Location – Madrid, Spain
Match details – Semi-final
Haddad Maia/Azarenka and Townsend/Fernandez have never played each other before on the WTA tour. Although all of them are experienced singles and doubles players, they haven’t faced each other as this particular doubles pair. Both the teams are very close to each other in terms of form, making it difficult to predict the outcome of this match. We are expecting an intense contest with Townsend and Fernandez eventually edging out their opponents in three sets.
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