Guadalajara Open 2022: Coco Gauff vs Victoria Azarenka preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (5) Coco Gauff vs Victoria Azarenka.
Date: October 21, 2022.
Tournament: Guadalajara Open 2022.
Round: Quarterfinals.
Venue: Panamerican Tennis Center, Guadalajara, Mexico.
Category: WTA 1000.
Surface: Hardcourt.
Prize money: $2,527,250.
Match timing: 2 pm local time, 7 pm GMT, 3 pm ET and 12:30 am IST.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK – Amazon Prime Video.
Coco Gauff vs Victoria Azarenka preview
World No. 7 Coco Gauff will face off against two-time Major champion Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Guadalajara Open on Friday.
A 7-6 (1), 6-3 win over Elisabetta Cocciaretto sent Gauff into the third round, where Martina Trevisan awaited her. The two had faced off in the semifinals of the French Open earlier this year prior to this.
Gauff clinched the opening set with ease, dishing out a bagel to claim it. Trevisan had a few break point chances to get back into the set, but failed to capitalize on her opportunities. The teenager continued the momentum in the second set as well, jumping to a 3-0 lead.
Trevisan finally managed to hold serve for the first time in the match to make it 3-1. The Italian even secured a break of serve in the seventh game of the set to get back on serve. However, Gauff snagged a break yet again to go 5-3 up.
The American youngster stepped up to serve for the match after that. She faced a break point, but fended it off to wrap up the proceedings with a 6-0, 6-3 win.
Victoria Azarenka defeated Elina Avanesyan and Paula Badosa to reach the third round, where she was up against Madison Keys. The Belarusian was off to a hot start, breaking her opponent's serve twice to lead 3-0.
Keys won the next couple of games to make it 3-2, but she never managed to completely make up for the initial deficit as Azarenka managed to take the opening set. The former World No. 1 led by a break twice in the second set and even served for the match on two occasions, but lost serve each time.
Keys managed to force a tie-break and even came out on top to win it and take the match to a decider. However, the American was completely outplayed in the final set. Azarenka reeled off six games in a row to win the match 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-1.
Coco Gauff vs Victoria Azarenka head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Coco Gauff vs Victoria Azarenka odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Coco Gauff vs Victoria Azarenka prediction
Gauff scored a dominant win over Trevisan in the previous round, while Azarenka suffered a second-set stumble but regrouped in time to finish strongly against Keys.
Gauff's serve is quite inconsistent, but has held up well so far. However, she hasn't faced a returner of Azarenka's caliber yet. The Belarusian is having her own troubles when it comes to serve, hitting 12 double faults in her previous match.
While the former World No. 1 is capable of hitting steady groundstrokes off both wings, Gauff's forehand is not that stable. The teenager will need to work on that during the off-season, but for now she'll need to make up for it with her speed and defense.
Azarenka is currently having a late-season resurgence. If she continues playing at this level, she should be able to get past the higher-ranked Gauff. Anything less than that will see the teenager go one-up over the former World No. 1.
Pick: Coco Gauff to win in three sets.