Madrid Open 2021: Jennifer Brady vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: (11) Jennifer Brady vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Date: 4 May 2021
Tournament: Mutua Madrid Open 2021
Round: Third round (Round of 16)
Venue: Madrid, Spain
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Clay
Prize money: €2,549,105
Match timing: Not before 5 pm local time, 9.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Jennifer Brady vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova preview
11th seed Jennifer Brady will look to reach the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open for the first time in her career when she takes on Russian veteran Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Tuesday.
Having struggled mightily after her runner-up finish at the Australian Open, Brady has finally got some momentum going at Madrid. The American has rediscovered her rhythm and range, as is evident from her commanding wins in the first couple of rounds.
Brady started her campaign with a 6-2, 6-4 demolition of Venus Williams. She followed that up with a ruthless 6-2, 6-1 win over former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Former World No. 13 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has also had her fair share of struggles at the start of this season. Prior to arriving in Madrid, the Russian had managed to string together two consecutive wins just once in eight tournaments.
However, things have changed considerably in the Spanish capital this week. Pavlyuchenkova has been striking the ball with renewed confidence, and has dispatched Madison Keys and sixth seed Karolina Pliskova with relative ease.
Yet to drop a set this week, the 29-year-old would be hoping to bring the same kind of form into her match against Brady.
Jennifer Brady vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova head-to-head
Jennifer Brady and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova have never crossed paths on the tour before, so their head-to-head stands at a 0-0 deadlock.
Jennifer Brady vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova prediction
A feisty competitor, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's game is based on powerful striking from the baseline. She can also occasionally chip and charge when needed.
The Russian seems to have fortified her first serve too, which has been a key reason for her success at Madrid so far. Her high 82.5% of first serves paved the way for her 6-0, 7-5 win over former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova in the second round.
Pavlyuchenkova needs to keep doing the same against a hard-hitter like Jennifer Brady, who has been helped by the quick conditions in Madrid so far.
Brady has struggled a bit on her serve, having put in a little under 60% of her first serves. But she has made up for that with her blistering groundstrokes and some accurate returns.
Given the consistency she has shown in the past few months, Brady can be expected to use her first-strike tennis to seize control of this match.
Prediction: Jennifer Brady to win in straight sets.