I will keep this one short as they are only an hour or two away from taking the court. Personally, I have been more impressed with the form of Maria Sakkari through her two performances here, which is a funny thing to say when you look at Muguruza reaching the third round with back-to-back straight set victories.
This is a step-up in terms of opposition difficulty for Muguruza in these conditions. The Mladenovic name carries more weight than her recent form does, so not a lot can be taken from that match besides the fact Muguruza was able to maintain a solid first serve percentage. Fast forward to round 2 and Sasnovich had no answers for the Spaniard in these conditions. Muguruza again found her first serve at a good rate, and Sasnovich didn’t have any weapons to threaten on return.
It’ll be much tougher for Muguruza today, with Sakkari displaying some very impressive tennis through two rounds. She is hitting her spots well on serve, and after a strong round 1 performance against Potapova was able to overcome a 0-3* early deficit to defeat Coco Gauff 7-5 6-2. Personally, I think Sakkari has the perfect mix of court coverage and power to cause issues for Muguruza here.
Sakkari shouldn’t be a slight underdog here, as I have her as favourite. If she can find her way into a Muguruza service game early and start to pressure the Spaniard, I think she can take control. Unless Muguruza finds the first serve at a higher rate, I have Sakkari progressing.
Suggested Bet
1 unit Sakkari to defeat Muguruza at $2.09 (+109) at Topsport