Roland Garros 2021: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Elena Rybakina preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (31) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs (21) Elena Rybakina

Date: 8 June 2021

Tournament: Roland Garros 2021

Round: Quarterfinals

Venue: Paris, France

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Red clay

Prize money: €17,171,108

Match timing: Approx. 2 pm local time, 12 pm GMT, 8 am EST, 5.30 pm IST

Live telecast: USA - NBC Sports / Tennis Channel | UK - ITV | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Elena Rybakina preview

Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will take on Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in an exciting clash quarterfinal clash between doubles partners at Roland Garros 2021.

Pavlyuchenkova entered the tournament off a strong run at the Madrid Open and has shown no signs of slowing down in Paris. The Russian has produced a couple of battling three-set wins over seeded opponents Victoria Azarenka and Aryna Sabalenka to reach the last eight, a feat she first achieved a decade ago as a 19-year-old.

Elena Rybakina

For Elena Rybakina, this will be a first quarterfinal at a Grand Slam event. The 21-year-old, in her fourth-round match, fought hard to down Serena Williams and end her pursuit of a 24th Grand Slam title.

Rybakina rarely looked overwhelmed by the occasion as she outhit Williams from the baseline. The win would have filled the Kazakh with confidence ahead of her clash with Pavlyuchenkova.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Elena Rybakina head-to-head

This will be the first career meeting between Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Rybakina, so their current head-to-head stands at a 0-0 deadlock.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Elena Rybakina prediction

Pavlyuchenkova has scored a couple of big wins in the tournament

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has been in the quarterfinals of Grand Slams before, but she has had trouble progressing past this stage. But with the bottom half of the draw wide open in Paris, she will sense a huge opportunity.

The Russian has been striking the ball cleanly off both wings all week. She was in devastating touch in her quarterfinal clash against Victoria Azarenka, striking 45 winners and making just 27 unforced errors.

Elena Rybakina can go toe-to-toe with her opponent from the baseline and will not be easily intimidated. The Kazakh did well to set up points with her big serve against Williams and will look to do the same against the Russian.

The pressure will definitely be on Pavlyuchenkova, who is the more experienced of the two players. But the Russian has spoken at length about enjoying her time out on the court without worrying about the outcome of her matches.

The change in on-court attitude has allowed her to play with much more freedom, and if Pavlyuchenkova can stay aggressive without giving away too many free points to Rybakina, she should be able to make it to the semifinals.

Prediction: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to win in two tight sets

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