Cincinnati 2023: Aryna Sabalenka vs Ons Jabeur preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick | Western & Southern Open
Match details
Fixture: (2) Aryna Sabalenka vs (5) Ons Jabeur
Date: August 18, 2023
Tournament: Western & Southern Open 2023
Round: Quarterfinal
Venue: Cincinnati, US
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $2,788,468
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Aryna Sabalenka vs Ons Jabeur preview
Top 10 players Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur are set to duke it out in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Western & Southern Open on Friday.
Following a tough three-set victory over Ann Li, Sabalenka took on Daria Kasatkina in the third round. While the Belarusian let an early lead slip from her fingers in the first set, she gained the upper hand almost immediately once again.
Sabalenka broke Kasatkina's serve a second time to go 4-2 up and remained ahead to capture the set. The World No. 2 outplayed her opponent in the second set as she swept the last four games of the match to win 6-3, 6-3.
Jabeur staged a memorable comeback win over Anhelina Kalinina to make it to the third round, where she was up against Donna Vekic. The Tunisian broke her opponent's serve thrice in the first set, while losing her serve just once to go 5-1 up.
Jabeur then stepped up to serve for the opener and even held a set point, but Vekic managed to secure a break to make it 5-2. There was a brief interruption in play due to rains after that. The Croat decided to retire from the match during this delay because of an illness, sending the Tunisian into the next round.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Ons Jabeur head-to-head
Sabalenka leads Jabeur 3-2 in the head-to-head. The latter won their most recent encounter at the 2023 Wimbledon in three sets.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Ons Jabeur odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Aryna Sabalenka vs Ons Jabeur prediction
Jabeur played at a pretty decent level against Vekic, but the match came to an abrupt end following the latter's retirement. Sabalenka improved a lot as well, as there was a world of difference between the quality of tennis displayed in her matches against Li and Kasatkina.
During her match against Li, it looked like the old Sabalenka was back. She lacked patience while rallying and her serve was misfiring. None of the improvements she made this year were visible, but she powered through all the troubles to come out on top.
Sabalenka played a much cleaner match against Kasatkina. Her previous meeting against Jabeur was at Wimbledon a couple of months ago, with the Belarusian blowing a lead to lose the match in three sets.
Back then Jabeur not only put Sabalenka in a spot of bother with her drop shots and slices, but also backed it up with some solid play from the baseline. This could be another close encounter between them.
Sabalenka has won both of their previous matches on hardcourts. If she plays with a level head, she could sneak past Jabeur, or else the latter is going to have the last laugh once again.
Pick: Aryna Sabalenka to win in three sets.