Four #MMOPEN semi-final places will be decided tomorrow when the eight best players at this year\u2019s tournament take to the courts. It promises to be a stellar day during which Paula Badosa, a newcomer to the round, will try to produce the best result for a Spanish woman in the WTA 1000 in the Caja M\u00e1gica.<\/p>\n
[1] Ashleigh Barty vs. Petra Kvitova [9]<\/strong> \u201cI love playing against Petra\u201d, admitted Barty. \u201cShe gets the best out of me. It\u2019s another challenge, another test. She\u2019s won this tournament several times and she loves the conditions\u201d. \u201cI can\u2019t wait. Whenever I play against Ash, it\u2019s a big challenge\u201d, recognised Kvitova.<\/p>\n [5] Aryna Sabalenka vs. Elise Mertens [13]<\/strong> When they have had to face each other on opposite sides of the net, Sabalenka has come out on top more often: 4-2.<\/p>\n [8] Belinda Bencic vs. Paula Badosa [WC]<\/strong> \u201cI know exactly what to do and that gives me a good feeling\u201d, analysed Bencic. \u201cI think that will be the key, playing my own game knowing what she will do and adapting tactics\u201d. Badosa knows she faces a huge challenge. \u201cI know it\u2019s going to be tough because she has been in many quarter finals and she has experience\u201d.<\/p>\n Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Karolina Muchova<\/strong> The Czech\u2019s meteoric 2021 continues and she now has a 5-0 record over Top 20 players this year.<\/p>\n Medvedev, Zverev and Tsitsipas take to the stage<\/strong> Zverev, the champion here in 2018 (beat Thiem in the final), has a very tough opener against Kei Nishikori in the second match in the Arantxa S\u00e1nchez Stadium. In the fourth match on the same court, Roberto Bautista will face American John Isner, who leads their head-to-head 3-2. However, they have never met on clay.<\/p>\n
\nA clash between the best player in the world and the best player in the history of this tournament. Barty, who has only lost one match on clay so far this year (against Badosa in Charleston), arrives here with some impressive stats under her belt; she has won her last ten matches against Top 10 players and has a perfect 9-0 this year against the Top 20. Kvitova, meanwhile, a three-time champion in the Caja M\u00e1gica, currently leads their head-to-head (5-4).<\/p>\n
\nOne of the most intriguing matches. Doubles partners and champions of two Grand Slams in the category (2020 US Open and 2021 Australian Open), Sabalenka and Mertens are also the last two players who managed to beat Simona Halep on clay. The Belarusian did so in Stuttgart, while the Belgian achieved the feat in the Caja M\u00e1gica today.<\/p>\n
\nThe Catalonian is looking to produce her career-best result at a WTA 1000, while the Swiss will be bidding to equal her semi-final finish from 2019. Badosa won the only clash between the two players, in Charleston in early April.<\/p>\n
\nPavlyuchenkova is back in the quarter-finals in Madrid 10 years after her last appearance in the round and she arrives there having produced her best wins by ranking so far this year against Pliskova (9) and Jennifer Brady (14). The 29-year-old Russian is in search of her first semi-final since October 2019 (WTA 500 in Moscow). Coincidentally, it was Muchova she beat there in the semis in their only previous encounter.<\/p>\n
\nDaniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas will make their bows tomorrow at this year\u2019s Mutua Madrid Open. The Russian second seed and world number three will be looking for his first win in the Caja M\u00e1gica, and will open the day in the Manolo Santana Stadium against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich, one of today\u2019s headline makers. Tsitsipas, who was a finalist in the last edition in 2019 (lost to Djokovic), will bring the day to a close on the centre court against Benoit Paire.<\/p>\n