Aryna Sabalenka vs Danielle Collins: 2024 Madrid Open - Preview & Prediction

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka has a pretty tough task at the 2024 Madrid Open, and that's to snap Danielle Collins's 15-match winning streak.

No player has an active winning streak remotely close to Collins. Despite being months away from retirement, the American has been playing some of the best tennis she's ever played, winning back-to-back events in Miami and Charleston.

With two wins in Madrid, she's up to 15 victories in a row, and she'll try to make it 16 against the defending champion Sabalenka, who endured some tough matches in Madrid. The Belarusian is not playing her best tennis this week and looks quite vulnerable, so let's see who will come out on the other side between them.

Head-to-head:

Collins and Sabalenka have played against each other before, and it's been a pretty one-sided affair so far. The American struggled quite a bit, losing all four of the matches. She did win sets in two of those, but for the most part, it's been an unfavorable matchup for her.

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The most recent of those four came at the US Open in 2022, and Sabalenka won in three sets. They never played on clay; in fact, three of their four matches were played at the US Open. Stylistically, the former world no. 1 has an advantage, but it's pretty close these days.

Prediction:

Collins is playing the best tennis of her life right now, and she can be really dangerous. We can't say that for Sabalenka, which is why the Belaruain is only a minor favorite.

The conditions in the Spanish capital will benefit Collins's serve, and if she plays similar to how she did in the past month, she can win. I actually think she will win because Sabalenka has been flirting with a loss in Madrid in both of her matches.

Prediction: Collins in 3.

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