Damien Kayat previews Aryna Sabalenka vs Barbora Krejcikova and Ons Jabeur vs Jelena Ostapenko in the Round of 16 matches of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on 19 April 2023.
2023 WTA Tour
WTA 500
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
Porsche-Arena (Indoor Clay-Court)
Selected Round of 16 Matches – 19th April
Aryna Sabalenka 8/11 | Barbora Krejcikova 21/20
This is turning into one of the most captivating rivalries in women’s tennis. This will be the 4th meeting between these Grand Slam champions this calendar year.
World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka will want to bounce back after a shock loss to Cirstea in Miami. The Belarusian has enjoyed a stellar season, winning her maiden Grand Slam title at the Aussie Open.
She hasn’t won a title since but did manage to reach the Indian Wells final. Sabalenka used to be a soft touch on clay but has evolved tremendously on this surface over the past few years.
She was 13-3 on the surface in 2021- winning the WTA 1000 title in Madrid. She has reached the final of this event in the last two seasons and will look to keep that trend going.
I have noticed that some of those serving demons have snuck back into her game. She will need to rectify that coming up against this opponent.
You have to admire the durability of Barbora Krejcikova. It would have been easy for her to focus on singles action following that brilliant 2021 French Open win.
But she has persevered with doubles, forming a partnership with Katerina Siniakova that will go down in history. Sure, that probably has affected her singles form to some extent. But she still has the class and expertise to pull off stunning results.
Just look at her magnificent WTA 1000 victory in Dubai earlier this year. I had a feeling she would see off the challenge of out-of-form Samsonova with ease. I never really expected her to demolish the Russian in 83 minutes.
It was a lovely bit of revenge for the Czech after the Russian beat her in Abu Dhabi earlier this season. She will be looking for further revenge against an opponent who has the slight edge in their 2023 rivalry.
Verdict: Krejcikova to win at 21/20
Sabalenka leads their head-to-head rivalry 4-1. She has won two of their three matches this year. The Czech came from a set down to beat Sabalenka en route to her Dubai success. Sabalenka then won another three-set meeting at Indian Wells. Sabalenka eased past the Czech when they last met in Miami.
You can see why these two are perfectly suited for long, engaging matches. Sabalenka is the prototypical aggressor, looking to dominate on serve and shorten exchanges. Krejcikova is a sponge, absorbing power and using her counterpunching skills to take down stronger hitters. And I think there’s value in backing her to take down Stuttgart specialist Aryna Sabalenka.
Ons Jabeur 4/7 | Jelena Ostapenko 5/4
Ons Jabeur is back and firing again. The affable Tunisian endured a rocky return to action following a knee operation, going 1-2 in the vaunted ‘Sunshine Double’.
But it just took a return to her beloved clay to bring out the best in the Tunisian. She was absolutely devastating at the Charleston Open, not dropping a set en route to her 4th career title.
People will rightfully remember her 2022 season for those two Grand Slam final defeats (at Wimbledon and the US Open). But the basis for her brilliant season was built on terrific clay-court form. She reached the final in Charleston before winning her maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid.
She would also go on to reach the Italian Open final. She is a creative shot-maker who has the perfect variety to succeed on these surfaces. Will her body hold up the vagaries of going back-to-back after her stunning showing in South Carolina?
That Ostapenko-Radacanu match was supposed to be a blockbuster first-round encounter. It turned into a nightmare for Radacanu fans as the Latvian utterly dominated the struggling Brit.
The 2017 French Open champion is arguably the most inconsistent player in women’s tennis. But when she gets it right it can be a joy to behold. She overpowered the Brit in dismissive fashion, actually winning 16 consecutive points in the second set.
Her record for the year improves to 13-8. It’s tempting to get carried away with Ostapenko after a performance like that. I thought these indoor conditions would suit her and it turned out to be the case.
She got into a steady rhythm and was able to eliminate those persistent unforced errors. But can she duplicate that performance against one of the best clay-court players in the world?
Verdict: Jabeur to win in three at 85/40
Ostapenko actually leads the head-to-head rivalry 2-1. Ostapenko won their only previous clay-court meeting way back in 2015. She also won their last encounter, taking down Jabeur in three sets at the 2021 Eastbourne International. This is a tricky one.
Obviously Jabeur has the clay-court pedigree and recent form. But Ostapenko’s brutal demolition of Radacanu gave me food for thought. She was unerringly accurate and looked almost unplayable. I’m also mindful of the fact that Jabeur is fresh off a title run and may struggle to maintain the physical momentum this week.
I think the Tunisian will have her issues with the Latvian. But she is a wily customer and I think she will figure Ostapenko out with her variety of slices and drop-shots.
