Maria Sharapova vs Kiki Bertens Tennis Prediction

This will be the pair’s first meeting. Sharapova has enjoyed far more success at Madrid than Bertens, but the Dutch #1 has also played and won a lot of matches on clay in the last twelve months. The former champion will have to dig deep against the world #20 to move any further.

Maria Sharapova News

Maria Sharapova exacts revenge on Kristina Mladenovic for the 2017 Stuttgart loss in the third round of Mutua Madrid Open, 6-3 6-4. The Russian was aggressive of the two throughout the match, striking 30 winners compared Mladenovic’s 12.
After registering a semifinal at Shenzhen (l. Siniakova) and the third round at Australian Open (l. Kerber) this year, Sharapova went on to lose the first rounds of her next three tournaments, Doha (Niculescu), Indian Wells (Osaka) and Stuttgart (Garcia).
The five-time slam champion broke the losing streak with wins over a couple of Romanians, Irina-Camelia Begu (7-5 6-1) and Mihaela Buzarnescu (6-4 6-1). This is her first Premier Mandatory quarterfinal since 2015 Madrid (l. Kuznetsova in the semifinal).
Sharapova has reached the final of Madrid in back-to-back years of 2013 (l. S. Williams) and 2014 (d. Halep). This week, she is looking for her 12th career title on clay. Her 11 clay titles (most recent is 2015 Rome) are the second-most for all active players.

Kiki Bertens News

Kiki Bertens secures the biggest win of her career by humbling the world #2 and Australian Open champion on the red clay of Madrid. The 6-2 6-2 emphatic win came in exact 60 minutes, with the Dutch hitting 29 winners as opposed to Wozniacki’s 5.
Last month, Bertens won the fifth and the biggest career title by lifting the Volvo Car Open trophy, defeating Cornet, Keys, and Goerges on the green clay. In 2017, she was the season leader of clay wins (24), which includes titles at Nuremberg and Gstaad.
Bertens made her second appearance at Madrid last year and cruised her way into the quarterfinals (d. Makarova and Bacsinszky) before losing to Sevastova. This week, she returned the favor to Sevastova, defeating her in the second round (6-1 6-4).

Tennis Prediction: Maria Sharapova
Odds: 1.80