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Day 5 of the 2025 Madrid Open is action-packed with several interesting singles matches set to unfold. There will be some interesting pairings in doubles, with Madison Keys and Maria Sakkari set to debut as a team. 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalists Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani, meanwhile, will also open their doubles campaign on Saturday (April 26).
Without further ado, let's take a look at how some of the under-the-radar matches in Madrid will likely pan out:
#1 Madison Keys / Maria Sakkari vs Magda Linette / Rebecca Sramkova
Reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys and former World No. 3 Naria Sakkari will join forces for the first time at Caja Magica to take on Poland's Magda Linette and Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova. Coincidentally, Sakkari downed Linette 7-6(5), 6-3 in the second round of the singles competition at the 1000-level event on Friday (April 25).
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While Keys, arguably the strongest player in this match, is relatively inexperienced in doubles, she did partner up with Taylor Townsend to reach the semifinals of the 2022 French Open. The American and the Greek, both of whom have a good aptitude for clay, are the favorites to reach the second round in doubles in Madrid.
Pick: Keys / Sakkari to win in straight sets.
#2 Jasmine Paolini / Sara Errani vs Hao-ching Chan / Giuliana Olmos
Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani, the sixth-highest-ranked doubles team on the WTA Tour, are vying for their fourth 1000-level triumph together at the Madrid Open this fortnight. Unfortunately, the Italian duo has dropped three of their last four outings, which bodes well for Taiwan's Hao-ching Chan and Mexico's Giuliana Olmos.
Chan and Olmos gave a good account of themselves as qualifiers at this year's Australian Open, eventually going out in the Round of 16. That said, they will likely not be able to match the chemistry between Paolini and Errani when the two teams face off in the first round in Madrid.
Pick: Paolini / Errani to win in straight sets.
#3 Diana Shnaider vs Anastasija Sevastova (2017 Madrid Open semifinalist)
World No. 13 Diana Shnaider had dropped seven of her last 12 matches before arriving at the Madrid Open this week. The Russian received a first-round Bye at the tournament and made quick work of the USA's Katie Volynets in her opener, beating the American 6-1, 6-2.
Sevastova, meanwhile, is playing her first tournament since the 2024 ATX Open last February and is hot on her comeback trail, going by her campaign at the 1000-level event thus far. Despite being unranked, the Latvian downed reigning Stuttgart Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and the 2021 French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova en route to the third round of the tournament this week.
The two players have never met on the WTA Tour, which means the 21-year-old lefty Shnaider might be under some pressure for her match-up with the former World No. 11. Sevastova will be more than motivated to continue her run in Madrid, where she reached the semifinals in 2017.
Pick: Sevastova to win in three sets.
