Yardbarker
x
WTA Madrid Day 2 Predictions Including Naomi Osaka vs Greet Minnen
USA Today Sports

Expect plenty of entertaining tennis on day two at the WTA Madrid Open with 24 entertaining matches on the slate. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on day two, including Jessica Bouzas Maneiro vs Paula Badosa, Donna Vekic vs Laura Siegemund and Emma Raducanu vs Maria Lourdes Carla. But who will advance?

WTA Madrid Day 2 Predictions

Yulia Putintseva vs Yue Yuan

Head-to-head: Yuan 1-0 Putintseva

Yue Yuan is having a full-on breakthrough season and while her experience on clay is relatively limited, the conditions in Madrid should suit her more than usual. She’s already defeated Yulia Putintseva earlier this year, but she’ll know that the pesty Kazakh is always uncomfortable to face. Yuan did grab a pretty nice run in Rouen last week and while it ended abruptly at the hands of Sloane Stephens, maybe it’s enough to fire up her forehand for this match.

Magdalena Frech vs Jacqueline Cristian

Head-to-head: Frech 1-0

It’s been seven years since these two faced each other at an ITF event in Braunschweig, so it will be a nice throwback for both of them. Magdalena Frech fell into a losing streak after her Dubai run, but managed to post a key win during Poland’s Billie Jean King Cup clash with Switzerland. Her game is deceptively tricky to face and Jacqueline Cristian will need her power to be zoned in here. What might help her is having played through the qualifying and looking great along the way.

Prediction: Cristian in 2

Mirra Andreeva vs Taylor Townsend

Head-to-head: first meeting

Madrid was where it all started on the main tour for Mirra Andreeva last year and while the Russian has slowed down recently with only two matches played in February and March, she’d really like to get back on track now. Taylor Townsend isn’t an ideal first-round opponent as the doubles specialist excels at giving her rivals no rhythm. At her best, Andreeva is such a good, varied counter-puncher though, capable of fending off all-court aggression. She’ll need to be sharp here.

Naomi Osaka vs Greet Minnen

Head-to-head: first meeting

Naomi Osaka has had better and worse moments on clay, ultimately never truly learning to move on this surface. But especially in Madrid she did on occasion overwhelm her opposition, even making the quarterfinals back in 2019. Can she channel that energy this campaign? The match in Rouen against Martina Trevisan was far from great. Greet Minnen’s recent weeks haven’t been impressive either though and maybe the lucky loser can be a decent opponent for Osaka, especially if this just ends up being an aggressive ball-striking power contest.

Prediction: Osaka in 3

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.