Two semi-finals to preview from the WTA Madrid Open today, and both have something interesting going on. We've got a teenager hunting a first big final and a wildcard story that nobody really saw coming. Which of these four makes it through?
WTA Madrid Open Predictions
Hailey Baptiste vs Mirra Andreeva
Head-to-head: Baptiste 0-1 Andreeva
Andreeva is the class act here and the heavy favorite, and that one previous meeting went her way too. At 17, she's already become so good at not panicking in long clay-court rallies and Madrid's slower conditions play right into that. Baptiste has had a brilliant run to get to this stage, but the jump in quality from the quarterfinals to Andreeva is a significant one.
That said, Baptiste is ranked inside the top 40 for a reason and won't just hand it over. But I think Andreeva's consistency from the baseline makes this too big an ask, and a tight three-setter feels like the most likely outcome here.
Prediction: Andreeva in 3
Karolina Pliskova vs Anastasia Potapova
Head-to-head: Pliskova 1-0 Potapova
Pliskova is ranked 197th in the world right now, which makes her run to a Madrid semi-final genuinely remarkable. The serve is still a weapon on any surface, and if she's hitting her spots she can disrupt anyone's rhythm on a clay court, even a clay court, arguably the slowest on the tour this week, this slow. The H2H is too small a sample to mean much.
Potapova is the better player on paper at this stage of her career and clay is probably the surface where Pliskova's flat ball-striking is least dangerous. Hard to see Pliskova's ball-striking causing the same problems here that it did earlier in the week. Potapova in three sets feels right, though Pliskova has already proven this week she doesn't care what feels right.
Prediction: Potapova in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Oscar J. Barroso/AFP7 via ZUMA Press Wire