Elena Rybakina vs Mayar Sherif
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Elena Rybakina -1666 / Mayar Sherif +950
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Fourth seed Elena Rybakina will square off against World No. 72 Mayar Sherif of Egypt in the third round of the 2024 Madrid Open. The match will be played on Sunday, April 28, 2024. Here’s our Elena Rybakina vs Mayar Sherif prediction.
Rybakina extends clay win streak to five matches
If the field in Madrid is expecting any subpar performances from Elena Rybakina this fortnight, then they are in for a surprise. The big-serving Kazakh has long forgotten her triumphant week in Stuttgart this past week, where she scooped her third WTA 500 title of the season. The Madrid Open’s elongated format has given Rybakina sufficient rest time. The World No. 4 returned to the court looking very fresh and composed as she swatted aside Lucia Bronzetti of Italy 6-4, 6-3 in an hour and 16 minutes, converting three of five break points and winning 72% first serve points.
Sherif stuns Kostyuk
Mayar Sherif was a quarterfinalist at the Madrid Open last year. If she is to emulate that run, then she needs to register one of the upsets of the tournament by eliminating the fourth-seeded Elena Rybakina. Sherif has completed half the job, beating Lauren Davis from a set down in her opening match and then upsetting Stuttgart runner-up Marta Kostyuk in straight sets. The match against the Ukrainian took 20 games to decide, with the Egyptian winning an impressive 65% return points against a fatigued Kostyuk.
Elena Rybakina vs Mayar Sherif Head-To-Head
Elena Rybakina and Mayar Sherif have faced off once before. It was at the 2022 Cincinnati Open, where the Kazakh won in straight sets.
Elena Rybakina vs Mayar Sherif Prediction
Outside team competitions, Sherif has fared poorly at the tour level this season, losing in the first round of every tournament she competed in until this week in Madrid. As a result, her ranking has fallen significantly from a career-high of World No. 31 not long ago. With that said, you are looking at a very comfortable win for the fourth seed here. In fact, Sherif can count herself fortunate to still be in the tournament after barely surviving against Davis in her opening match and almost allowing Kostyuk a way back into the match on Friday. I can see Rybakina overpowering the Egyptian here for the loss of six games.
