WTA Masters in Madrid, Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 04.05.2022
Not only the men will play their champion of Madrid next weekend, also the women are getting serious. They have already reached the quarter-finals, not all of them were expected to be this far ahead.
Only one player of the top eight is among the top 10 seeded participants, so the matches will be all the more exciting. In my Sorribes Tormo Pegula tip, I can share the bookmakers’ assessment of not really having a favourite.
Few had expected her, but the Spanish fans are all the more pleased to see a local hero in the quarter-finals. Sara Sorribes Tormo is playing stronger than ever in Madrid.
The 25-year-old has never won more than one match at this tournament, and now she seems to be reaching for the stars. Or has she only got this far because the luck of the draw made her play against weak opponents?
The opposite was the case! Not everyone expected the 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 against Anastasija Pavlyuchenkova, but at the latest with the 6-3, 6-1 against Naomi Osaka, all the experts really noticed her.
Sorribe’s Tormo stayed on, also beating Daria Kasatkina in the round of 16. 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, as in the first round, it was the second set in which she took a little time out. However, she was unable to match her performance from the match against Osaka.
That was shown by the 14 break chances she gave up, against Osaka it was only one. In recent weeks, the Spaniard has concentrated more on doubles and her singles performances have suffered as a result.
In Madrid, she is already out of this competition, so she can fully concentrate on her performance. It is good that she is 2-0 up against her upcoming opponent Jessica Pegula.
However, this has had less of an effect on the bookmakers, where odds of 2.30 to 1.60 show that the US American is more likely to be seen in front. It can’t be because of her performance in Madrid, as she has only reached one round of 16 so far at this Masters.
What she conjures up on the court here in 2022 is all the more astonishing. She started with a hard-fought 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 win over Camila Giorgi and followed it up with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Kaia Kanepi.
She finally entered the quarter-finals with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Bianca Andreescu. However, this match was riddled with errors on both sides, 20:15, that is the balance of break chances given up from Pegula’s point of view alone!
Against Sorribe’s Tormo she will not be able to afford so many carelessness. If the 28-year-old serves until the end, as she did in Miami, the title is definitely possible for her, where she stormed through to the semi-finals.
But she also benefited from the fact that two of her opponents, Paula Badosa and Anhelina Kalinina, had to retire injured. Sorribe’s Tormo will probably not do her that favour on Wednesday.
My Sorribes Tormo Pegula Tip
Neither Sara Sorribes Tormo nor Jessica Pegula could have been counted on in the Madrid quarter-finals, but both have quite rightly made the top eight. The bookmakers are leaning more towards the US American.
but I see the slight advantages for Sorribe’s Tormo. She serves stronger, has Naomi Osaka beaten and the crowd at her back. My tip is therefore:
Sorribes Tormo wins against Pegula!
