Match details
Fixture: (12) Jessica Pegula vs Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Date: 4 May 2022.
Tournament: Madrid Open 2022.
Round: Quarterfinals.
Venue: Madrid, Spain.
Category: WTA 1000.
Surface: Clay.
Match timing: Not before 8 pm local time, 6 pm GMT, 2 pm EST, 11.30 pm IST.
Prize money: €6,744,165.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Jessica Pegula vs Sara Sorribes Tormo preview
World No. 14 Jessica Pegula and home hope Sara Sorribes Tormo will square off on Wednesday with a place in the semifinals of the 2022 Madrid Open up for grabs.
Pegula has put together a decent season so far. After a couple of opening-round defeats at the Melbourne Summer Set 2 and in Sydney, she bounced back to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
She also made it to the semifinals in Miami and the Round of 16 in both Doha and Charleston.
At the ongoing Madrid Open, the resilient American needed to save a match point to edge Camila Giorgi in three sets in the first round. However, her campaign in the Spanish capital since then has been smooth as she beat both Kaia Kanepi and Bianca Andreescu in straight sets.
Pegula's next opponent, Sara Sorribes Tormo, meanwhile, reached her fourth quarterfinal of the season with a fighting 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 win over Daria Kasatkina on Tuesday. This is also her first last-eight appearance at home in 2022.
The 25-year-old is now the last Spanish women's player standing in the draw after the exits of Garbine Muguruza and Paula Badosa.
Sorribes Tormo has been pretty impressive this week. She started her title challenge with a three-set win over last year's Roland Garros runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The World No. 47 followed it up with a thrashing of four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, losing just four games in the entire match.
Sorribes Tormo will now be eager to keep her dream run going at home with yet another giant-killing win in the quarters.
Jessica Pegula vs Sara Sorribes Tormo head-to-head
Sorribes Tormo has a 2-0 lead over Pegula in their head-to-head. The two met for the first time in the qualifying rounds of Charleston in 2016, where the Spaniard emerged victorious in three sets. Sorribes Tormo then repeated her win over Pegula in straight sets at the Indian Wells 125K event in 2019.
Jessica Pegula vs Sara Sorribes Tormo odds
(All odds sourced from BetMGM)
Jessica Pegula vs Sara Sorribes Tormo prediction
This is a matchup of contrasting styles. While Pegula is an aggressive baseliner, Sorribes Tormo is a relentless counterpuncher.
Pegula's brand of hard-hitting tennis has so far worked well in Madrid. However, she needs to put up an improved performance on serve to have an advantage against her opponent. The American coughed up seven double faults that put her on the brink of defeat against Giorgi in the first round, something she cannot afford to repeat in the quarterfinals.
Sorribes Tormo may not possess a strong serve or Pegula's power on groundstrokes. However, her tremendous defensive skills and exceptional fitness levels are capable of breaking down the American's game. The Spaniard also has a formidable net game with which she will look to steal a few points from Pegula.
Unless Pegula is able to blast the Spaniard off the court, the feisty Sorribes Tormo stands a fair chance of making the last four at home.
Prediction: Sara Sorribes Tormo to win in three sets.