Madison Brengle vs Ekaterina Alexandrova Prediction: Ekaterina can be tough on Hard surface

The WTA scene is heating up as we inch closer to the US Open. The Qualifiers have already begun and we are not far away from seeing the most talented tennis players on display during one of the oldest Opens in history. This has been another intriguing season as before the US Open, the American slate has been full of joyful tournaments. So it will be the case when Madison Brengle will take on Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Brengle is entering the Round of 16 after defeating Varvara Gracheva 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 in a thriller. She did a great job of breaking Varvara’s serve, earning a stunning 70-31 receiving points advantage. She didn’t manage to stay afloat on the service points end, conceding a 50-72 advantage in that regard. At one point, she won four games in a row but overall, this game was a close one.

In May, Madison hit her career-best ranking of 35 but fortunes have cooled down since then. She lost in the first round of the Canadian Open to Coco Gauff, before that, she had been beaten by Anna Kalinskaya in the first round of the Citi Open. She was also ousted in the first round of Wimbledon by Lauren Davis. She met a similar fate in the tournaments before that and that is why she has fallen in the rankings.

Ekaterina enters the game after defeating Lauren Davis 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to open her campaign. Ekaterina had an impressive game, getting hold of 11 Aces and eked out a 40-28 receiving points advantage. She did commit six double-faults but her first and serve percentage exceeded 70 which implies her strong focus. This was a tough win for Ekaterina but she knows how to get through tough games.

Ekaterina has been frequently ranked in 20s for the most part since 2020 and this means that she has been highly consistent. Ekaterina didn’t go deep in the Canadian Open but did beat Leylah Fernandez in the first round, overall, Ekaterina will need to go deeper into the Grand Slam scenarios to leave a bigger impact. Still, she is a tough competitor on the hard surface and loves to hit them flat.

Madison has been in a bit of rust lately and she will need to make a deeper run with the US Open just at the doorsteps. Ekaterina has been doing a decent job of beating some tough players but like Brengle, a deep run has been a distant run for her too. This is an interesting battle between two players that are still finding their rhythm during the busy season. Here, I’ll back Ekaterina to win in three sets.