Three To See, Madrid Day 7: Sabalenka vs. Andreeva; Badosa vs. Sakkari; Fritz vs. Garin

WATCH: Sabalenka is yet to drop a set at the Mutua Madrid Open.

Aryna Sabalenka vs. Mirra Andreeva

Come for the second-best player in the world, stay for the WTA’s prodigy of the moment . Sabalenka is the former, of course, and, as the 2021 champion in Madrid, she’s already shown herself to be a formidable force on these fast clay courts. Andreeva is the latter, and at 15, she’s already shown herself to be the most precocious of competitors. She has recorded her first three main-draw WTA wins this week, two of them over seeded opponents, and all of them in straight sets. 

From what I’ve seen of Andreeva so far, this should be a clash of attack and defense. Sabalenka’s serve and forehand will be the biggest shots on the court, and her improved backhand won’t be far behind. Andreeva will counterpunch with her own excellent two-handed backhand, and use what seems like a natural competitive savvy to lengthen the points and put some doubt in Sabalenka’s head. The No. 2 seed won’t want to lose to a 15-year-old, which could end up making this match between the present and the future all the more interesting. Winner: Sabalenka

**Paula Badosa vs. Maria Sakkari **

It feels like a class of 2021 reunion. That was the year when these two women made a run up the rankings together. Sakkari topped out at No. 3 in March 2022, Badosa peaked at No. 2 a month later. Since then, it’s been a frustrating last 12 months for both. Sakkari is still clinging to the lower rungs of the Top 10, while Badosa is all the way down to No. 42. The pressures of taking the next step—to Grand Slam champion, to No. 1—seemed to get to the Spaniard and the Greek. But at 25 and 27, respectively, each has time for a resurgence. 

Sakkari showed signs of one when she made the semifinals in Indian Wells last month. Madrid would seem to be the ideal place for Badosa to start hers, and her 6-3, 6-0 win over Coco Gauff in her last match was certainly promising. She and Sakkari have split their previous two meetings. Winner: Badosa

Taylor Fritz vs. Cristian Garin

Fritz is 25 and Garin 26, and have been pros together for eight years, but they come from different surfaces worlds. Garin is a Chilean dirt-baller, Fritz a Californian hard-courter. Consequently, their paths have crossed just once, last year on clay in Houston. Not surprisingly, Garin won.

But there are a couple of reasons to think Fritz could turn that result around when they meet on Monday in Sanchez Stadium. One, Fritz recently became the first U.S. player in 20 years to make the semifinals in Monte Carlo; two, the clay in Madrid should be more hospitable to his serve-plus-one style than the stuff in Monaco was. Winner: Fritz