Cori Gauff vs Paula Badosa Prediction: Highly intriguing battle

The clay court, unlike Hard and green surfaces, produces variable bounce and offers a slower pace. For tennis players, the clay court is also a better avenue if they are to avoid injuries to the different parts of the leg due to the hardness of the hard court. I am talking about clay courts because the next Grand Slam, the French Open will be played on clay courts, about one month from now. In this Madrid Open game, Cori Gauff takes on Paula Badosa.

Gauff enters the match after defeating Irene Burillo Escorihuela 6-4, 6-1 during her Round of 64 battle. Gauff had four Aces and she had a first serve% of 73, having a 67% win on the first serve. As usual, her service game was on song and she plucked a 37-20 service points advantage while the receiving points were almost equal as Gauff had just a 26-25 edge. At one point, Cori won eight games in a row to seal the deal. The odds favored Cori and the result was expected considering Irene is a much lower-ranked player than the sixth-round Gauff.

Badosa comes into the contest after defeating Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 during the Round of 64. Paula had a rather hard time during the match, committing 10 double faults. She did get 5 Aces to land and although she had a nine percent disadvantage on connecting on first serve, she had a 62-51 percent advantage on first serve. Because of the errors, Badosa was behind on service points with Elisabetta having a 56-55 advantage but Paula did well on his return and had a 47-39 receiving points edge. Badosa was the number two player at around the same period last year but a year later, she has dropped to below 25 because of lean runs.

Badosa and Cori have met three times and Paula has a two-one lead. They last met during last year’s Silicon Valley Open when Badosa won in two sets.

Gauff is known for her solid two-hand backhanded shot which is more than handy on the clay surface. Badosa relies heavily on her powerful serve and can hit it hard on the surface but the clay court needs an all-around play. Her record against high-ranked players recently has been questionable but you never know when Paula can put it together. I expect a gritty battle but will back Cori.