Jelena Ostapenko vs Beatriz Haddad Maia Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Miami

Prediction published on 25/03/2023, 06:42  by Kennedy Kechula | Modified on 25/03/2023 at 07:50 in Tennis Predictions

The battle to reach the second week is on at the Miami Open where one of the matches lined up on Saturday in the women's singles sees 24th seeded Jelena Ostapenko go head to head with 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia. The match will be played on an outdoor hard court and will be the fourth meeting between the two players. Ostapenko has dominated her opponent winning all previous three meetings. One of the wins was in this tournament five years ago. If she makes it four wins then the former Miami finalist will take on either unseeded Claire Liu or 25th seed Martina Trevisan.  The Latvian has blown hot and cold so far this season and her highlight has been reaching the quarterfinals in Melbourne where she was beaten by eventual runner-up Elena Rybakina. That led to the former French Open champion moving up to her season-high ranking of 12th but unconvincing performances since then have resulted in her dropping back down to 22nd. Ostapenko beat qualifier Mirjam Bjorkland in straight sets to reach the third round after receiving a first round bye.

Beatriz Haddad Maia has also been on and off the boil this season with the highlight of her campaign this far being making the semifinals in Abu Dhabi. Her record against Ostapenko may be poor but this is the first time they have met when Maia has been ranked higher than Ostapenko. Plus, this is only their second meeting since 2018.  Maia begins this tournament ranked 14th but is up a place in the live rankings. Her year hasn't been the most consistent with a best performance of a last four in Abu Dhabi where she beat Elena Rybakina. Her opening match in this tournament was an eventful one. Maia won the first set against Tereza Martincova on a tie-break but then failed to win a game in the second. The Brazilian fought back well to win the deciding set without dropping a game. Now she bids to reach the fourth round in Miami for the first time.