Madrid Open 2021: Belinda Bencic vs Ons Jabeur preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (8) Belinda Bencic vs Ons Jabeur

Date: 3 May 2021

Tournament: Mutua Madrid Open 2021

Round: Third round (Round of 16)

Venue: Madrid, Spain

Category: WTA 1000

Surface: Red clay

Prize money: €2,549,105

Match timing: Not before 3 pm local time, 6.30 pm IST

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Belinda Bencic vs Ons Jabeur preview

Belinda Bencic had to dig deep in her second-round encounter at the 2021 Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday. Playing against America's Bernada Pera, the eighth seed needed 2 hours and 40 minutes and a winner-takes-all tiebreaker to ensure a win.

Things are not going to get any simpler for Bencic, who has now set up a Round-of-16 encounter against the in-form Ons Jabeur.

Ons Jabeur

Jabeur herself came through a hard-fought win over former US Open champion Sloane Stephens on Saturday, edging out her opponent 6-4 in the third set.

The Tunisian has been in fine form through most of 2021. She is fresh off a positive couple of weeks in Charleston, where she made it to the semi-finals and finals of back-to-back WTA events.

While Jabeur would be slightly disappointed with not having taken at least one of the two crowns, she would still be feeling good about her game.

Belinda Bencic vs Ons Jabeur head-to-head

Belinda Bencic

This is set to be the first career meeting between Belinda Bencic and Ons Jabeur, so their current head-to-head stands at a 0-0 deadlock.

Belinda Bencic vs Ons Jabeur head-to-head

Belinda Bencic will enter the contest as the favorite on paper, but her recent results fail to inspire much confidence. The Swiss has suffered a series of early exits lately; in fact, her win over Bernarda Pera marked the first occasion she has scored consecutive match wins since February.

In contrast, Ons Jabeur has amassed quite a few solid results in the lead-up to this encounter. The Tunisian enjoys playing on clay, and has a strong set of weapons that are well-suited to the surface - including powerful groundstrokes and sublime movement.

Bencic will look to make the best use of her serve and backhand, but the encounter is likely to be decided by the level of tennis that the Tunisian manages to produce. If Jabeur can find a way to keep pressuring her opponent - especially on the somewhat vulnerable forehand side - and manages to keep her unforced errors under check, she could find herself in a strong position.

The 26-year-old definitely has a shot at another big upset here, but she cannot afford to make too many slip-ups against someone of the quality of Bencic.

Predicition: Ons Jabeur to win in three sets.