Three to See, Madrid Day 5: Gauff vs. Badosa; Tsitsipas vs. Thiem; Linette vs. Andreeva

MADRID HIGHLIGHTS: Badosa defeats Cocciaretto to launch bid

Coco Gauff vs. Paula Badosa

Badosa will be back on the big court, Estadio Santana, on Saturday afternoon. Is that a good thing? In her last match there, the Spaniard looked pretty stressed trying to close out her lower-ranked opponent in front of her countrymen. The good news for Badosa is that, despite hobbling for a bit on an injured leg, she did finish the win in the end.

It’s the latest sign of a mini-rebound for the 25-year-old former world No. 2. Earlier this month, she won three matches in Charleston, and pushed Aryna Sabalenka to 6-4 in the third before losing in Stuttgart. Now she’ll try her luck against another Top 10 player in Gauff. Badosa has a 2-1 record against the American, and she won their most recent meeting, last August in San Jose. Coco has been going through something of a stagnant streak of late. Will that continue, or will the prospect of defending her runner-up finish at Roland Garros next month kick her mind and game into a higher gear? Winner: Badosa

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Dominic Thiem

At times over the last year I’ve wondered how much of Thiem’s heart is in his comeback. As for his throat, though, it was fully engaged during his first-round win over Kyle Edmund earlier this week. Apparently, his grunts were loud enough that they disrupted a doubles match on another court. Thiem will need to put everything he has into this evening-session match in Santana with Tsitsipas. The Austrian leads their head-to-head 5-3, a series that has included two superb three-setters at the ATP Finals. But they haven’t faced off since 2020; during that time, Tsitsipas has risen into the Top 5, while Thiem has fallen far from it. The battle of the one-handed backhands should be fun, and Thiem, who has played well in Madrid over the years, should make it competitive. But Tsitsipas looks likes he’s finding his clay-court form right now. Winner: Tsitsipas

Mirra Andreeva vs. Magda Linette

The 15-year-old Andreeva is tennis’s phenom of the week. The Russian, whose older sister, Erika, is also a pro, has won the first two main-draw matches of her career in Madrid. The women she beat, Leylah Fernandez and Beatriz Haddad Maia, are no slouches, either. Andreeva likes to compare her game to Ons Jabeur’s varied arsenal. From what I’ve seen of her so far, though, it’s her consistency and defense, coupled with a good two-handed backhand and an improving serve, that are her strengths. On Thursday, she was calmer and steadier than Haddad Maia when it mattered. The 19th-ranked Linette may be a tougher out; here’s hoping we see a little more of what Andreeva has to offer as a shotmaker along the way. Winner: Linette