Three Roland Garros finalists, and the WTA’s Spanish No.1, are featured in the day’s biggest contests.
On Saturday in Madrid, 2018 and 2019 French Open runner-up Dominic Thiem will face 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas, while 2022 runner-up Coco Gauff takes on Spain’s top-ranked woman, Paula Badosa.
Saturday’s action also includes Major champions and No.2 seeds Daniil Medvedev and Aryna Sabalenka. The women are a day ahead of the men, with Saturday’s schedule hosting third round WTA matches and second round ATP matches.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Saturday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Coco Gauff (6) vs. Paula Badosa (26) – Not Before 4:00pm on Manolo Santana Stadium
Gauff is 18-6 this season, but is just 3-2 lifetime in Madrid thus far during her young career. Badosa is only 12-6 in 2023, after missing the Australian Open due to injury. She is 5-3 in her country’s biggest tournament, having reached the semifinals two years ago.
Paula is 2-1 against Coco, with all three matches taking place on hard courts. Badosa prevailed two years ago at Indian Wells, as well as last year in San Jose, while Coco was victorious last year in Doha.
Of course the crowd will be firmly behind the Spaniard, but will that be enough for Badosa? It’s been over a year since she’s recorded a win over a player ranked as highly as Gauff. And some of the American’s best results have come on clay. I give Coco the slight edge to even their head-to-head on Saturday.
Dominic Thiem (WC) vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) – Not Before 8:00pm on Manolo Santana Stadium
Just like Gauff, Tsitsipas is 18-6 on the year. And the Greek is coming off a final last week in Barcelona, losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the final. He is 8-4 lifetime in Madrid, losing in the 2019 championship match to Novak Djokovic. Stefanos was also a semifinalist a year ago.
Thiem is a two-time runner-up in Madrid, but is just 7-11 this season, as he continues to fight his way back from a serious wrist injury. But six of those seven wins have come this month on clay, so it feels as if Dominic is beginning to regain his confidence.
Thiem is 5-3 against Tsitsipas overall, and they’ve split two previous encounters on clay. Their most notable matchup occurred in the championship match of the 2019 ATP Finals, when Stefanos prevailed in a third-set tiebreak to claim the biggest title of his career to date. They have not met since 2020, and Dominic is still not the same player he was a few years ago. Tsitsipas is a considerable favorite to advance in this battle of one-handed backhands.
Other Notable Matches on Saturday:
Andreas Vavassori (Q) vs. Daniil Medvedev (2) – Vavassori took out Andy Murray on Thursday, and has now won 19 matches on clay this season at all levels. Medvedev is 31-4 on the year, and leads the ATP in match wins, but is just 1-3 lifetime in Madrid.
Camila Osorio (WC) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Osorio is a 21-year-old who as recently as last year was ranked inside the top 40, but is now outside the top 100 after battling injuries over the past year. Sabalenka is 24-4 this season, and won this event in 2021. Aryna is 1-0 against Camila, having easily defeated her two years ago at Wimbledon.
Felix Auger-Aliassime (7) vs. Dusan Lajovic – Auger-Aliassime is a modest 12-7 in 2023, and withdrew from Monte Carlo due to a knee injury. Lajovic won the second ATP title of his career just days ago in Banja Luka, and was a quarterfinalist in Madrid in 2018. Dusan is 2-0 against Felix, having beaten him twice in straight sets on a hard court.
Liudmila Samsonova (14) vs. Jelena Ostapenko (19) – Samsonova is 9-9 on the year, while Ostapenko is 14-9. Jelena leads their head-to-head 2-0, with two hard court victories in straight sets.
Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.
