Miami Open 2022: Paula Badosa vs Yulia Putintseva preview, head-to-head and prediction

Match Details

Fixture: (5) Paula Badosa vs Yulia Putintseva

Date: 27 March 2022

Tournament: Miami Open

Round: Third Round (Round of 32).

Venue: Miami, Florida, USA.

Category: WTA 1000.

Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt.

Prize money: $8,584,055.

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

Paula Badosa vs Yulia Putintseva preview

Paula Badosa will look to reach the fourth round of the Miami Open

Fifth seed Paula Badosa takes on Yulia Putintseva in the third round of the Miami Open on Saturday.

The Spaniard started 2022 with an opening-round exit in the Adelaide International 1. She followed this up by winning the Sydney International, beating Barbora Krejcikova in the final.

Badosa reached the fourth round of the Australian Open with victories over Ajla Tomljanovic, Martina Trevisan and Marta Kostyuk. However, she lost to Madison Keys.

After suffering early exits in Dubai and Doha, the 24-year-old reached the semifinals of the Indian Wells Open after beating Tereza Martincova, Sara Sorribes Tormo, Leylah Fernandez and Veronika Kudermetova. She then lost to Maria Sakkari in three sets.

Badosa is seeded fifth at the Miami Open and reached the third round of the competition with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Marie Bouzkova.

Putintseva started the year with a first-round exit at the Australian Open at the hands of Harmony Tan. The Kazakh failed to qualify for the Dubai Tennis Championships and suffered a first-round exit at the Qatar Open.

She reached the second round of the Indian Wells Open after beating Ashlyn Krueger in straight sets. However, the 27-year-old lost to 31st seed Viktorija Golubic in three sets.

Putintseva then entered the Miami Open and reached the third round following three-set wins over Nastasja Schunk and Lesia Tsurenko.

Paula Badosa vs Yulia Putintseva head-to-head

Sunday's match in Miami will be the second between the two players. They met in the second round of Wimbledon last year with Badosa winning 6-4, 6-1. The winner of the match will face either Victoria Azarenka or Linda Fruhvirtova in the fourth round of the Miami Open.

Paula Badosa vs Yulia Putintseva prediction

Badosa will be the overwhelming favorite entering the match given her recent run of form. The Spaniard has won 14 out of 19 matches so far in 2022 while Putintseva has won just three out of six matches.

Badosa will have to be aggressive from the get-go to put Putintseva under pressure. The Spaniard's groundstrokes, particularly her backhand, her slices and drop shots are effective weapons. Additionally, she is a fesity competitor on court, which will work to frustrate Putintseva.

The Kazakh is a strong hitter too but will probably have to change up her tactics and resort to slices and off-paced balls, especially during long rallies. Given Badosa's qualities, Putintseva cannot afford to make too many mistakes.

The Spaniard should have little trouble getting the better of Putintseva and sealing her spot in the last 16.

Prediction: Badosa to win in straight sets.