Former Madrid champion Ons Jabeur will take on Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round of the 2024 edition of the WTA 1000 tournament.
The Tunisian is a former champion in the Spanish capital, having won this event back in 2022. This year’s event is her first Madrid Open since then because she missed last year due to injury.
Her form has been questionable this year as well, but she’s slowly starting to build it up. The week in Madrid has been pretty decent for the three-time Grand Slam finalist, although she’s not really playing clean tennis.
On the other hand, the Latvian had an up-and-down year, with some trophies to her name, but also some surprising losses. She plays mostly good tennis, but her streakiness often hurts her and prevents her from having complete weeks.
That’s been the case so far in Madrid as well, so let’s see what type of match this one ends up being.
Head-to-head:
They played a few matches so far, and it’s been an interesting matchup. Each player has two wins, but Jabeur won the most recent meeting in Stuttgart last year. It’s a fascinating matchup, because anything can happen on the court.
Jabeur is notoriously streaky, and the same goes for Ostapenko. The only difference is that the Latvian is even more unpredictable. Stylistically, the Tunisian does match up well with her ability to change pace, but if Ostapenko plays her best, many opponents can’t find answers.
| Ons Jabeur | Jelena Ostapenko | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | H2H | 2 |
| 9 | Rank | 10 |
| 29 | Age | 26 |
| 5-7 | 2024 W/L | 19-7 |
| 434-239 | Career W/L | 361-216 |
Prediction:
I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Jabeur so far. She’s not playing superbly, but she’s finding ways to win matches. I like that from her, especially if she manages to frustrate Ostapenko into many errors. I’m going to side with the Tunisian because of that, but it’s far from a lock.
Prediction: Ons Jabeur to win in three sets.
