World number six Elena Rybakina will be up against the 20th-ranked Jelena Ostapenko in the semifinal of the 2023 WTA Rome Open on Friday, May 19. Get the predictions and odds of this Elena Rybakina v Jelena Ostapenko match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Elena Rybakina v Jelena Ostapenko Head to Head
There have been three previous matches between these two players and Ostapenko leads 2-1. While Ostapenko won in Linz and Eastbourne, Rybakina’s only win came earlier this year at the Australian Open.
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Rybakina Benefits from Swiatek Injury
It looked like another typical day on clay for the world number one Iga Swiatek who had grabbed the first set against Rybakina with utmost ease and then gone 4-2 ahead in the second.
Rybakina didn’t give up though and broke back to push the second set into a tie-breaker where Swiatek was forced to go off for a medical timeout after suffering an injury to her right leg.
Even as Swiatek returned to try and play the third set, she was unable to continue between the first four games, with Rybakina getting an entry into the semifinal at 2-6, 7-6 (3), 2-2.
This follows wins over Jasmine Paolini, Anna Kalinskaya and Marketa Vondrousova in the previous rounds for Rybakina. She hasn’t quite looked at her best given clay isn’t quite the surface she enjoys playing too much but her fighting spirit has been on display throughout.
It also means this will be the first time that Rybakina will feature in a WTA 1000 semifinal on clay with her previous best being a third round appearance at both Madrid and Rome. The win will also propel her into the top five for the first time in her career when the new rankings are released next week.
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Ostapenko Ends Badosa’s Run
For the third time in four matches, Ostapenko was taken to the third set in the encounter but the Latvian found a way past her opponent yet again to seal her maiden clay court WTA 1000 semifinal.
The former French Open winner got the better of Paula Badosa this time around, clinching her quarterfinal 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to march forward.
Ostapenko was on court for an hour and 50 minutes and while she was broken four times in the encounter, she overcame her opponent’s serve on seven occasions to seal the deal.
This follows wins over Sorana Cirstea, Barbora Krejcikova and Daria Kasatkina in the first three rounds of the competition for the world number 20 who was coming off a 2-2 win-loss record on clay for the season before this.
She would be no pushover despite facing the world number five here.
Rybakina v Ostapenko Prediction and Tip
Rybakina looks to have tasted blood on clay but there have been times she has looked uncomfortable on this surface even in Rome. Ostapenko has had previous success on clay but it’s been a tad up and down since then and those vulnerabilities have been on show for her too.
Which makes this an interesting match-up and one that could see a keen tussle between these two.
Tips:
- Low Risk Tip: Over 8.5 games in the first set: 2/5
- Moderate Risk Tip: Over 21.5 games in the match: 4/5
The 2023 WTA Rome Open will be played from May 9 to 21. You can get all the tennis betting news with our tennis betting blog here. Also get rest of the tennis match previews here.
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