The two remaining quarterfinal matches at the WTA Madrid Open will conclude on Wednesday. In-form Marta Kostyuk faces 13th seed Linda Noskova, while a resurgent Karolina Pliskova will face Elena Rybakina’s conqueror Anastasia Potapova. Who will reach the semifinals?
WTA Madrid Quarterfinal Predictions
Karolina Pliskova vs Anastasia Potapova
Head-to-head: Pliskova 1-0 Potapova
Pliskova began the tournament ranked World No. 197 and only accessed the main draw with a protected ranking. The Czech has rolled back the years in Madrid to become the lowest-tracked quarterfinalist in the tournament’s history. And she’s done so with what she does best, thanks to her elite serving and clean baseline hitting.
Potapova, meanwhile, stunned Elena Rybakina in Monday’s late-night match. Having lost in qualifying to Sinja Kraus, the Austrian has impressed as a lucky loser and produced her finest performance yet in knocking out Rybakina. Potapova saved a set point in the first, which she won in a tiebreak, and then rallied from a break down in the second set to close out the match in straight sets.
Although the double faults have been piling up, Pliskova’s second serve has been nearly untouchable, with the Czech averaging 69% of points won in her thrilling victory against Elise Mertens and 86% of points won against Solana Sierra. One more win and Pliskova will get near a Top 100 return, and if that second delivery is efficient, Pliskova could well do some serious damage again.
Prediction: Pliskova in 3
Marta Kostyuk vs Linda Noskova
Head-to-head: first meeting
Kostyuk has emerged as one of the most in-form players in the first half of the clay-court swing. Since a third-round defeat to Elena Rybakina in Miami, Kostyuk has won nine matches in a row. She’s 8-0 on clay courts and in that run, she captured her second WTA title in Rouen and earned a dominant Top 10 victory against Jessica Pegula. There are no signs of the wheels slowing down as the Ukrainian easily dispatched Caty McNally 6-2 6-3 to return to the Madrid quarterfinals for the second time.
Linda Noskova has defied the odds to reach the deep end of the draw. She authored her own Top 10 win over World No. 3 Coco Gauff in the Round of 16. Noskova was a double break down in the final set and then trailed 2-4 in the deciding tiebreak, but still prevailed after two hours and six minutes. It’s back-to-back quarterfinals for the Czech, who began this year’s clay swing with a last-eight finish in Stuttgart.
This should be a proper test for Kostyuk. Noskova showed some serious nerve and grit in that comeback against Gauff. That said, Kostyuk is riding that clay wave with an unblemished 8-0 record and she has not lost a set in Madrid. Given her imperious form, I think Kostyuk is likely to manage longer rallies with more control and dominate.
Prediction: Kostyuk in 2
Main Photo Credit: Smartframe Images
