We’re into the quarter-finals of teh WTA Tour’s Madrid Open. Damien Kayat previews Ons Jabeur v Madison Keys and Elena Ryabakina v Yulia Putintseva.
2024 WTA Tour – WTA 1000
Mutua Madrid Open
La Caja Magica
Selected Quarter-Finals – 30 April – 1 May
Tuesday 30 April
Ons Jabeur 13/20 | Madison Keys 12/10
This looks set to be a blockbuster quarter-final between two players looking to regain their best form. Ons Jabeur broke a five-match losing streak in Stuttgart and she has looked back to her best this fortnight.
She has been struggling with some potentially career-threatening knee issues for some time. The Tunisian star has broken down on court on a number of occasions and I honestly thought we might be getting close to seeing the end of her.
But she has knuckled down in Madrid, picking up some morale-boosting victories over the likes of Fernandez and Ostapenko. She was particularly impressive against Ostapenko, diffusing the Latvian’s power-based game with her unmistakable court-craft. There is no doubting Jabeur’s ability.
A three-time Grand Slam runner-up, Jabeur is an all-court operator who can adapt to different challenges. A quarter-finalist at last year’s French Open, Jabeur reached back-to-back WTA 1000 clay-court finals in 2022 (winning here and finishing runner-up in Rome). But will her body hold up to the pressure of this deep run?
Madison Keys has also had her physical struggles this season. She was forced to miss the Aussie Open due to a shoulder injury and only returned to action at Indian Wells. She entered this year’s event off the back of a second-round exit at the Charleston Open and she struggled to break down Begu in her opener.
Still, beating Begu would have given her some a little confidence (she had lost in the first round here in seven of her last nine attempts). She then showed a bit more swagger with a convincing win against Samsonova. She then picked up her biggest win of the year, coming down from a third-set deficit to see off powerhouse Coco Gauff.
Granted, Gauff was coughing up double-faults with alarming regularity. But Keys kept her eye on the prize, wearing down Gauff with her tremendous depth of shot. That victory took her to her first WTA 1000 clay-court quarter-final in eight years (she finished runner-up at the 2016 Italian Open).
Keys is an accomplished clay-court player, with a Charleston title and Roland Garros semi-final to her name.
Verdict: Keys to win in straight sets 5/2
I don’t want to get too sucked in by Jabeur’s win over Ostapenko. She has been in dreadful form this season and there’s always a chance that those knees will fade. Keys has been hitting the ball sweetly and I just have the feeling that she could blow Jabeur away.
Wednesday 1 May
Elena Rybakina 1/6 | Yulia Putintseva 4/1
This all-Kazakh quarter-final should be fascinating. 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina has been a force of nature on this year’s circuit. Her thumping round of 16 victory over teenage sensation Bejlek improved her 2024 record to a stunning 28-4.
The hard-hitting Kazakh has reached more finals (5) and won more titles (3) than anybody else this season. Rybakina has really evolved as a clay-court player over the past few years. A French Open quarter-finalist back in 2021, Rybakina won her maiden WTA 1000 clay-court title at last year’s Italian Open.
She is fresh off a fantastic title-winning run in Stuttgart (where she accounted for clay-court queen Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals).
Yulia Putintseva is fast becoming one of this year’s real surprise packages. The 29-year-old hasn’t reached a final since October 2021 and you could have been forgiven for not really knowing who she was. But she has been on an absolute tear in WTA 1000 action of late, reaching back-to-back WTA 1000 quarter-finals for the first time in her career.
Her comeback win over Daria Kasatkina took her recent WTA 1000 record to 11-2. A former two-time French Open quarter-finalist, Putintseva has cultivated a bit of a cult following due to her brash on-court behaviour.
She has looked really aggressive of late, using a deceptively big serve and massive forehand to dictate rallies. She will need to play at her absolute best to compete against her more illustrious compatriot.
Verdict: Rybakina to win in three sets 31/10
Putintseva actually leads the head-to-head 2-0 (though both of those matches came more than three years ago). Rybakina has emerged as one of the preeminent players in the women’s game over the past two years. I think Putintseva will be competitive in this match.
She has been excellent on serve and a constant threat on return. I just think Rybakina’s class will shine through in the end. Rybakina has a way of winning matches even if she isn’t playing very well (like the Man City of women’s tennis).
