In what looks the most even match of the four women’s quarter finals on paper, Karolina Muchova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will play for a spot in the semis in the opening match of Tuesday’s schedule. Muchova won the last match back in 2021 but lags behind 1-2 in the head to head and also lost their only clay match in Madrid back in 2019.
She may not get as far as the final this time but Pavlyuchenkova has put together another great run for her second French Open running, something that looked pretty unlikely given her struggles in getting back to her best after a long injury lay off. More matches may have been all the Russian needed with her three consecutive three-set wins to get this far showing the talent is definitely still there. Her win over Elise Mertens was the most impressive of the bunch, coming from a set and break down to beat the Belgian 3-6 7-6 6-3.
Muchova has always been capable of challenging the best players but injuries have often halted the progress, meaning she is currently ranked much lower than her level outside the Top 40. An impressive win over Maria Sakkari in her opener set the tone for the tournament, with the latest win coming against Elina Avanesyan in straight sets. It was always comfortable for her in this one, with some great net play helping her on the way to a 6-4 6-3 victory.
The long matches that Pavlyuchenkova has been playing this fortnight may well catch up to her, with Muchova an incredibly smart player who will look to get the Russian moving. Pavlyuchenkova is definitely the winner in the power stakes but it will be difficult to remain consistent long enough again in this one. Elise Mertens remained too passive and allowed the World No.333 back into the match in the last match, something that Muchova should be savvy enough to avoid.
Prediction – Karolina Muchova in three sets
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