WTA Tournament in Madrid, 1st Round, Friday, 29.04.2022
While the men are still preparing for the Madrid Open, the ladies are already in the thick of it! The best player in the world, Iga Swiatek, withdrew her participation, but the selection of top players is still very high.
From the German point of view there was also a cancellation, Angelique Kerber, out of shape anyway, will not take part. Will someone else be able to step into the breach? Read my Fernandez Petkovic tip to see what I think the experienced Hessian can do after surviving the qualifiers!
The days when Andrea Petkovic could play her way to the top at major tournaments, are they already over or will they come back again? The Bosnian-born player is now 34 years old and is not planning to end her career in 2022.
She played here in Madrid twelve years ago, but it is still not one of her favourite tournaments. She made it to the last 16 once, but most recently she did not even reach the main draw.
In 2019 and 2021, she was eliminated in the qualifying round, but at least that didn’t happen again. Petkovic showed herself to be highly confident. First she won 6-4, 6-2 against Misaki Doi, then she beat Kaja Juvan 7-6, 6-4.
She did not play in Indian Wells, so her last tournament in Qatar was more than two months ago. At that time, she was defeated by Viktorija Golubic (4-6, 4-6).
This year 2022 is definitely not going according to plan for the 34-year-old, who has only reached a quarter-final once. Nevertheless, the bookmakers do not think she has no chance in her first duel against the much younger Leylah Fernandez.
2.70 to 1.40, at least the Hessian is expected to put up a tough fight (if the betting odds are interpreted favourably). This is exactly what she is known for when she meets much stronger opponents. Can she also play herself into the limelight on Friday?
Leylah Fernandez may be clearly better placed in the world rankings, but the Canadian is not in top form either. Her final at the US Open in 2021 is still fresh in her memory, but since then her engine has been sputtering.
In Charleston, she was eliminated in the first round against Magda Linette, losing despite leading 1:0. In Miami, she had lost outright to Karolina Muchova in the opener.
In Indian Wells, there was once a round of 16 to celebrate, but that was achieved by her opponent retiring and a hard-fought victory in three sets against Shelby Rogers. After all: the Monterrey Open went to Fernandez.
I don’t want to praise this trophy too much for the clear reason that there was no competition worth mentioning there. So if the 19-year-old wants to play her way back to the top of the world in Madrid, she will have to show a clear improvement in performance.
My Fernandez Petkovic Tip
Leylah Fernandez is favoured in the duel with Andrea Petkovic, who is 15 years older than her, but the bookmakers do not expect a victory in a quick run. I can agree with this prediction after my analysis.
The Canadian is not in top form, has not yet played a strong tournament in 2022.
As the Hessian is known for close, contested duels against better-positioned opponents and Fernandez is in search of form, I expect the following tip for Friday:
We see more than 19.5 games!
