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Match Details
Fixture: (6) Aryna Sabalenka vs (Q) Caroline Garcia
Tournament: Cincinnati Open 2022
Date: August 20, 2022
Round: Semifinal
Venue: Lindner Family Tennis Center, Ohio, United States
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $2,527,250
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - Rogers Sportsnet, TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Aryna Sabalenka vs Caroline Garcia preview
Sixth seed Aryna Sabalenka will square off against French qualifier Caroline Garcia in the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open on Saturday.
Sabalenka successfully overcame Zhang Shuai in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (1) in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open despite serving 12 double faults. Prior to that, Sabalenka took out home hope Shelby Rogers 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-4. In the Round of 32, she led 6-3, 4-1 over Anna Kalinskaya before she forfeited the encounter.
The Belarusian hasn’t lived up to expectations this season. She was ranked World No. 2 earlier in the year but has now slipped to No. 7. Sabalenka has registered 24 wins and 16 losses so far.
The 24-year-old is yet to win a trophy this year. Her best results have been the runner-up finishes at the Stuttgart Open and the Libema Open, where she lost the titles to Iga Swiatek and Ekaterina Alexandrova respectively.
Additionally, she progressed to the semifinals of the Italian Open and the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open but was stopped by Swiatek both times.
Garcia, meanwhile, is having a stupendous year. She has amassed 31 wins alongside 15 losses. She dealt with mixed results and a loss of form through 2020 and 2021, and saw her WTA ranking fall to No. 74 at the dawn of this year.
Now ranked World No. 35, she has clinched two titles this year, the Bad Houmborg Open by beating Bianca Andreescu 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4 in the final and the Poland Open against Ana Bogdan 6-2, 6-1.
The Frenchwoman made it to the quarterfinals of the Sydney International and Palermo Ladies Open. She also reached the last four at the Lyon Open and the Ladies Open Lausanne.
The 28-year-old started her Cincinnati campaign as a qualifier and fought her way to the semifinals. In the main draw, she has gotten the better of Petra Martic, Maria Sakkari and Elise Mertens before outclassing home favorite Jessica Pegula 6-1, 7-5 in the quarterfinals.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Caroline Garcia head-to-head
The Belarusian leads the Frenchwoman 2-1 in their head-to-head. They clashed thrice in 2018, with Sabalenka winning in Cincinnati and Beijing while Garcia prevailed in Zhuhai.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Caroline Garcia odds
(All odds sourced from bet365)
Aryna Sabalenka vs Caroline Garcia prediction
This promises to be an exciting encounter. Garcia will enter the match as the more composed player of the two. She has won over 70% of her service points in her previous match, while Sabalenka has managed to win just over 50%.
Both players are known to be aggressive baseliners with robust forehands. They will likely engage in an offensive battle and try to score points off of winners and big serves.
The Belarusian is a reputed server but her recent accumulation of double faults has nullified her serving advantage. Garcia will look to outplay Sabalenka this time around in Cincinnati and should be able to make the finals.
Pick: Garcia to win in three sets.
