Sorana Cirstea vs Aryna Sabalenka Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Mutua Madrid Open

Prediction published on 26/04/2023, 01:44  by Daniel Ngulu in Tennis Predictions

For the second successive tournament this season, unseeded Sorana Cirstea and Aryna Sabalenka – seeded second, will face off when they battle in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open on an outdoor clay court on Thursday. The two met for the first time in their careers at this year’s Miami Open where Cirstea managed a straight-sets victory in the quarterfinals. She will hope for the same outcome again but it won’t be easy as Sabalenka is a far much stronger player on clay. Cirstea is having a decent season so far and has won 14 of the 22 matches that she has played. Her win over Sabalenka saw her reach the semifinals in Miami for the first time in her career and this remains to be her highlight of the season. The current world number 44 is appearing in Madrid for the 12th time and her best-ever finish was when she made it to the quarterfinals in 2016 and 2017. She made her season debut on clay with victory after defeating the unseeded Lauren Davis in three sets to advance to this round. Cirstea had lost in the opening round in each of her last two appearances here. She is now up to number 41 in the live ranking and another win could see her break into the top 40 for the first time this season.

Aryna Sabalenka is a former champion here (2021) and will start off her tournament by targeting another title. She has been superb so far this season and has won two titles already including her first Grand Slam success with her victory in Melbourne. The Belarussian has played a total of four finals this year out of the six tournaments that she has participated in. She was eliminated in the quarterfinals in Dubai and in Miami, in the latter by Cirstea. She arrives in Madrid after losing in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix to Iga Swiatek in her season debut on clay. It was the third successive loss in the final for her in Stuttgart and she will want to get over it quickly with a sustained challenge here in Madrid. The current world number two cannot ascend to the top of the women’s game if she wins another title here but will solidify second place and boost her confidence immensely going into next month’s French Open.