Maria Sakkari vs Irina-Camelia Begu Prediction: Sakkari making a deep run, will she shake veteran Begu?

Clay is a different surface from grass and hard courts because it has a slower pace and also the variable bounce makes it tough to adjust for hard hitters at times. There are some players who thrive on clay and its nature which isn’t as hard on legs as the hard court, where the players engage in their tussles most of the time. There are two Grand Slams played on hard courts, one is played on grass, and one is played on clay. The French Open is one of the tournaments that is played on clay and to set the stage for the Grand Slam, tournaments like Madrid Open are crucial because they have a similar playing field to French Open, offering a great glimpse at the athletes on the clay. In this Quarter-Final game, Maria Sakkari is going to take on Irina-Camelia Begu.

Sakkari entered the tournament after exiting in the first rounds of both the Miami Open and the Stuttgart Open. Before that, she had done a great job in the Indian Wells Masters, reaching the Semi-Final, beating high-ranked players Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova, Anhelina Kalinina, and Shelby Rogers. Overall, Sakkari had a tough second half of 2022 and needs to do more in 2023, this game can pave the way

So far, in Madrid Open, Sakkari has defeated Paula Badosa, Rebeka Masarova, and Arantxa Rus. This is a tough field she has had to beat but Maria has now made more-than-decent runs in two of the last four tournaments. Is this a sign that Maria is discovering some of the mojo she had a couple of years ago? At any rate, Maria is here, in the quarterfinal, this game is going to be big for her rhythm. Rus and Badosa didn’t win a set against her but she lost a set to Rebeka Masarova.

Irina-Camelia Begu has shown great rhythm in the Madrid Open. She had something going in Charleston Open earlier and she has beaten tough players in this tournament. She had to beat 14th-seeded Liudmila Samsanova, she defeated Shelby Rogers and Karolina Muchkova, and she is yet to lose a set against anyone. She has lodged 79%, 78%, and 72% on first serve in the three games and this implies how well she is serving the ball.

She has done well to read the bounce on the clay court. Like Sherif who has drawn Saba in the Quarter-Finals, Begu has been impressive on clay and this has been on full display during Madrid Open. However, this is a huge test and if she has some way of getting into the Semis will stamp her as a terrific player on clay. Her game is well suited for clay and she can generate something momentous when the caravan reached the French Open.

Sakkari and Begu have met thrice and Sakkari has won two of these games. Their last meeting was during the St. Petersburg in February 2022 and Sakkari had to fight out a win in a three-set thriller.

Sakkari and Begu have engaged in two three-set battles in their three meetings. This implies that the pendulum has swung both ways. This sets up a highly intriguing match-up but in WTA, there have been two-set wins regularly in such scenarios. I believe that even if this is a set-two battle, I see the total going over 22. Who will win? Tough one to call but perhaps Irina. This is WTA after all!