'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAUACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABdAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABwgQAAICAgIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQABQYHESFBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEQACAgMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgADBBFBcf/aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8Axrt9fR4byPryxLUr3Yk1euvtCqGAyllEoSRwWLDyciexWtY2FuaCEVopLEjxwKxKxKzEhAT8UesYx3VIuWwA1qquNXZsVCe2Pzyf/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Fixture: (5) Caroline Garcia vs Yulia Putintseva
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
Caroline Garcia vs Yulia Putintseva preview
Following a first-round bye, Caroline Garcia will lock horns with Yulia Putintseva in the second round of the 2023 Madrid Open.
Garcia competed in three tournaments Down Under - the United Cup, Adelaide International 2 and the Australian Open. She produced her best result in the last one, winning three matches to make it to the fourth round, where she lost to Magda Linette.
Garcia reached her first final of the season at the Lyon Open, but lost a hard-fought battle against Alycia Parks. After an underwhelming Middle Eastern swing, she rebounded by making the Monterrey final. However, the 29-year-old came up short once again, this time against Donna Vekic.
Garcia then lost to Sorana Cirstea in the fourth round at Indian Wells. The Romanian knocked her out in the second round of the Miami Open as well.
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix was her first tournament of the clay season. The Frenchwoman lost to Anastasia Potapova in the quarterfinals.
Putintseva, meanwhile, faced off against Claire Liu in the first round in Madrid. The former dropped serve at the start of the match to trail 2-0, but bagged the next couple of games to level the score.
Putintseva broke her opponent's serve to go 4-3 up, but was unable to hold serve in the next game. She secured another break of serve to lead 5-4 and closed out the set in the following game to clinch the opener.
The pair traded service breaks to start the second set. Putintseva snagged a break in the fifth game to go 3-2 up and solidified her lead with a service hold to make it 4-2. The Kazakh kept her nose in front until the end to win the match 6-4, 6-4.
Caroline Garcia vs Yulia Putintseva head-to-head
This will be their first meeting on the WTA tour, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Caroline Garcia vs Yulia Putintseva odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Caroline Garcia vs Yulia Putintseva prediction
Putintserva weathered a tough challenge from Liu to emerge victorious in the first round. The Kazakh will need to raise her level if she intends on getting the better of Garcia.
While the Frenchwoman's recent results have been quite up and down, she did start off her clay season on a positive note. Garcia's serve has helped her out considerably and she's currently ranked second on the tour with respect to the number of aces hit.
Putintseva packs a punch with her groundstrokes and is certainly capable of keeping up with Garcia in baseline duels. Her serve isn't too reliable at times, which could prove to be detrimental.
Garcia is an excellent returner, though her aggressive stance during return games occasionally works against her. Putintseva is a pretty good player on clay, but the World No. 5 should be able to subdue her to advance further.
Pick: Caroline Garcia to win in three sets.
