Third round men’s singles action will be completed on Monday, while all fourth round women’s singles matches will be staged on a busy Monday in Madrid.
Through the first four months of 2023, Aryna Sabalenka has been the year’s best WTA player. She leads the WTA Race with nearly 4,000 points, thanks to a record of 25-4, with two titles and two other finals. That of course includes her first Major in Melbourne. But on Monday, Sabalenka plays the breakout star from the first week of this fortnight: Mirra Andreeva.
Another high-profile round of 16 match sees Spanish No.1 Paula Badosa take on ninth-seeded Maria Sakkari. And other WTA matches on Monday include World No.1 Iga Swiatek as well as last year’s runner-up Jessica Pegula.
On the men’s side, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Taylor Fritz will all play their third round matches on Monday.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Monday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Mirra Andreeva (WC) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Not Before 1:00pm on Manolo Santana Stadium
Andreeva just turned 16 years of age on Saturday, but she is already making a big impact in the tennis world. Mirra went 16-0 in April on clay, winning two ITF-level tournaments before winning the first three rounds of this event without dropping a set. Those were the first three WTA victories of her career, and they were all over notable names: Leylah Fernandez, Beatriz Haddad Maia, and Magda Linette.
As per the WTA, Andreeva is the third-youngest player to ever win a match at a WTA 1000 event, only behind Coco Gauff and CiCi Bellis. She describes her game as containing a lot of a variety, comparing herself to Ons Jabeur. And Mirra also has an older sister currently ranked higher than her, with whom she teamed up with in the doubles event this past week.
But is the teenage sensation ready to hang with Sabalenka? Aryna was the champion in Madrid two years ago, and has been playing the best tennis of her career this season. She must be favored against the upstart, yet it will be quite interesting to see how Mirra competes against a top player on this big stage.
Paula Badosa (26) vs. Maria Sakkari (9) – Not Before 4:00pm on Manolo Santana Stadium
Sakkari is 17-8 this season, though she arrived in Madrid on a three-match losing streak. However, all three losses came against top names: Sabalenka, Andreescu, and Pliskova. She’s only 5-4 lifetime in Madrid, but has previously achieved the semifinals of both Rome and Roland Garros on this surface.
Badosa is just 13-6 on the year after missing the Australian Open due to injury, but on Saturday she played perhaps her best match of 2023, easily dispatching of Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-0. The Spaniard was a semifinalist at her country’s biggest tournament two years ago, the same year she reached the quarters of Roland Garros.
These players have split two previous meetings on hard courts. Two years ago at the WTA Finals, Badosa prevailed in straights. A year ago at Indian Wells, Sakkari prevailed in three. On Monday, I favor Paula to prevail in their rubber match. The altitude in Madrid increases the court speed, and most of Maria’s best results have come on slower surfaces. Plus, the Spanish crowd will undoubtedly attempt to make themselves a significant factor in Badosa’s favor.
Other Notable Matches on Monday:
Alexander Shevchenko (Q) vs. Daniil Medvedev (2) – Medvedev is now 32-4 on the year, and 3-1 on clay. Shevchenko is a 22-year-old Russian who has already won two Challenger titles this season, and reached another final.
Veronika Kudermetova (12) vs. Daria Kasatkina (8) – While both are top 12 seeds, Kasatkina is just 10-10 in 2023, while Kudermetova is 11-9. Kasatkina leads their head-to-head 2-0, which includes a straight-set win in last year’s French Open quarterfinals.
Taylor Fritz (8) vs. Cristian Garin – Fritz is 26-8 this year, and is coming off back-to-back semifinals on clay in Monte Carlo and Munich. Garin is 19-10 overall, and 9-6 on clay. A year ago on this surface in Houston, Cristian beat Taylor 6-3 in the third.
Sebastian Baez (25) vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) – Tsitsipas survived a huge scare from a revitalized Dominic Thiem on Saturday night, escaping in a third-set tiebreak. Baez is 11-6 this season on clay, having claimed a title earlier this year in Cordoba. At last January’s Australian Open, Stefanos defeated Sebastian in four sets.
Jessica Pegula (3) vs. Martina Trevisan (18) – Pegula continues to be one of the sport’s most reliable performers, now with a record of 25-7 on the year. Trevisan has a losing record this season, but was a semifinalist last June at Roland Garros, and a quarterfinalist a few weeks ago in Miami. Earlier this year in the United Cup, Jess defeated Martina in straight sets.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova (16) – Swiatek has dropped only 10 games through four sets, while Alexandrova outlasted Qinwen Zheng in a three-setter late on Sunday evening. Ekaterina has achieved a better result in Madrid than Iga, advancing to the semis a year ago, though this is only Iga’s second appearance. They have split two prior encounters.
Monday’s full Order of Play is here.
