Iga Swiatek vs Aryna Sabalenka Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Mutua Madrid Open

Prediction published on 05/05/2023, 10:55  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 05/05/2023 at 11:56 in Tennis Predictions

The top two seeds have made it through to the final of the Madrid Open. Iga Swiatek faces second seeded Aryna Sabalenka aiming to repeat her recent win over her in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix final. A win for the top seed will give the Pole her third title of the year and her second on clay. Swiatek has also lost in the Dubai final and reached the last four in Indian Wells. Only four matches have been lost by her this year, two of them to Elena Rybakina. Swiatek has had to win five matches to reach this final, taking her season record to 25-4. Only one set has been dropped and that was in the last 16 against Ekaterina Alexandrova. The world number one was in top form in the last four when beating Veronika Kudermetova for the loss of only two games. This is her eighth match against Sabalenka and her lead is 5-2. Three of the matches were on clay and all won by Swiatek in straight sets with only 14 games dropped.

Aryna Sabalenka remains top of the WTA Race based on points earned this season. That will be the case even if she loses this final, though Swiatek will move into second if that happens. The world number two won two titles down under including the Australian Open. Two finals have been lost since then but every tournament in which Sabalenka has played this year she's reached at least the last eight. In Madrid, the Belarusian won her first three matches in straight sets, two of her opponents being wild card entries. In the last eight, Sabalenka took on unseeded Mayar Sherif and lost the first set. However, she battled back well and only lost three games in the next two sets. The last four saw Sabalenka finally face seeded opposition and beat ninth seed Maria Sakkari for the loss of five games. A good fight will be put up by her in this final but we tip Swiatek to get the win.