Miami Open Prediction: Aryna Sabalenka vs Hailey Baptiste
07:00 PM EDT
The Line: Betting Odds: Aryna Sabalenka -1667 / Hailey Baptiste +700
Aryna Sabalenka vs Hailey Baptiste Preview
Aryna Sabalenka beat Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zheng in the last 16 to make her way into the quarterfinals of the Miami Open. The Indian Wells champions won the match in straight sets in an hour and 26 minutes to extend her winning streak to nine matches. The match took 19 games to decide, and Sabalenka cruised past Zheng 6-3, 6-4.In the victory, Sabalenka hit 4 aces and 1 double fault. Sabalenka landed 69% of first serves in play and won 75% of first serve points (27/36). She won 50% of second serve points (8/16) and saved four of five break points. Before this round, Sabalenka had beaten Ann Li and Caty McNally without losing a set. She improves to 20-1 for the season, with the only loss coming to Elena Rybakina at the Australian Open.
Hailey Baptiste achieved a career first in Miami. She is through to her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal after defeating Jelena Ostapenko in the last round. Their match also took 19 games to decide and lasted an hour and 25 minutes. Baptiste won the first set 6-3 after breaking Ostapenko’s serve twice. The second set was tightly contested and it was Baptiste who gained the upper hand when she broke serve in the seventh game and consolidated that lead until she wrapped up victory.
In the victory, Baptiste hit 11 aces and 2 double faults. She landed 59% of first serves in play and won 68% of first serve points (28/41). Baptiste won 64% of second serve points (18/28) and saved nine of 10 break points in the match. Before this round, Baptiste had beaten each of Tatjana Maria, Liudmila Samsonova, and Elina Svitolina without dropping a set. The American improves to 11-7 for the season.