There’s a distinct Spanish flavor to the semifinal line-up at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara. An all-Spanish showdown sees Paula Badosa come up against Garbine Muguruza in what promises to be a thrilling encounter. The winner will become the first Spanish woman to reach the championship match of the WTA Finals since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in 1993. No Spanish woman has ever won the WTA Finals. Who will advance to Wednesday’s final in Guadalajara?
WTA Finals Semi-Final Prediction
Paula Badosa vs Garbine Muguruza
H2H: First match,
Paul Baroda has impressively launched her first campaign for the WTA Finals. The 24-year-old won two sets against Arena Sabalenka (64 60) and Maria Safari (75 64). Those wins meant Baroda would finish top of his group no matter what happened in his last group stage game with IGA Sweater.
Baroda was naturally not quite at his best when he succumbed to IGA Sweater in a few tight sets. Maybe this was the defeat he was meant to suffer? Carbine Muguruza took the opposite route for the semi-finals. The two-time major champion failed in her opener in Guadalajara, defeated by Karolina Pliskova in a tiebreaker in the final set. Muguruza kept his semi-final hopes alive with a courageous 26 63 64 victory over Barbara Krejcikova before securing her place in the last four by ending Anent Kontaveit’s 12-game streak with a 64 64 wins.
Alongside Muguruza throughout the tournament, certainly helping to bring the best of Spanish. It’s surprising that this is the first career meeting between the two. No doubt they know each other’s games well, and there will be a bit more tension here in an all-Spanish clash. I’ll give Muguruza a slight advantage. Baroda appears to be the safest choice here given his form over the past month.
However, Muguruza seems to be peaking at the right time of the tournament and knows how to get the job done on the bigger stages. Baroda has shown signs of fatigue in her last two games as she potentially runs out of steam after an unprecedented season for her. Muguruza’s increased experience and slightly more dynamic play could lead her to the final.
