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Fixture: (2) Aryna Sabalenka vs Sorana Cirstea.
Tournament: Mutua Madrid Open 2023.
Round: Second Round (Round of 64).
Venue: Caja Magica, Madrid, Spain.
Category: WTA 1000.
Surface: Outdoor clay.
Prize money: €7,652,174.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Sorana Cirstea preview
After a first-round bye, reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka will take on World No. 44 Sorana Cirstea in the second round of the 2023 Madrid Open.
Sabalenka kicked off the year by winning the Adelaide International 1, laying her hands on the winner's trophy for the first time since May 2021. She then went on to claim her maiden Major title at the Australian Open, defeating Elena Rybakina in the final.
Sabalenka's winning ways came to an end in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships, going down to Barbora Krejcikova. She made it to the title round of her next tournament, the BNP Paribas Open, but Rybakina managed to get the better of the Belarusian this time around.
Her journey at the Miami Open concluded in the quarterfinalsand she then commenced her clay swing at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. The 24-year old made it to the final for the third year in a row, but lost to World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in a rematch of last year's final.
Cirstea, meanwhile, was up against Lauren Davis in the first round here. The opening set was closely contested, but the Romanian gained the upper hand towards the end. She went on a three-game run which sealed the set in her favor.
Cirstea led by a break twice in the second set, but Davis dug deep and reeled off four games in a row to capture the second set. The momentum swung in the former's favor in the final set as she lost just one game to win the match 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Sorana Cirstea head-to-head
Cirstea leads Sabalenka 1-0 in the head-to-head. She won their previous encounter at the 2023 Miami Open in straight sets.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Sorana Cirstea odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Aryna Sabalenka vs Sorana Cirstea prediction
After a second-set stumble, Cirstea raised the bar with her game in the third set to oust Davis in the previous round. She fired seven aces, while winning 72% of her first round points.
Sabalenka's record in Madrid is rather odd. She lifted the title here in 2021, but failed to win a match on every other occasion. While she's one of the best performing players this season, Cirstea is one of the four women to inflict a defeat on her this year.
Their previous meeting took place in Miami last month, with Cirstea scoring a major upset win. Sabalenka was rather flat that day, with a minor injury also hampering her. The Belarusian committed error after error, leading to her demise.
Cirstea, like Sabalenka, likes to dominate the rallies from the baseline. However, the latter manages to overpower almost all of her opponents with her groundstrokes.
This will be a grudge match for the World No. 2, and she's likely to settle the score to avenge her loss in Miami.
Pick: Aryna Sabalenka to win in three sets.
