Coco Gauff made a winning start at the 2024 Madrid Open, and she will try to do the same against Dayana Yastremska.
The 20-year-old made a spectacular effort to serve her opponent Arantxa Rus a double bagel in Madrid, but that likely won't happen in her next match. She's facing a much tougher player who is admittedly as streaky as Rus but is generally expected to put up better resistance than the Dutch player.
Yastremska started this year really well but struggled to keep up as the year went on. Now, she will try to find that same level on clay again in what is generally not the most favorable matchup for her.
Gauff and Yastremska have never played against each other, but that shouldn't be a huge surprise. They are both very young players, and they didn't get many chances to meet so far.
The American uses her speed to cover the court tremendously, making it very hard to beat her, while the Ukrainian uses her power to hit the ball as hard as possible.
That makes her a tough player to face because, in Madrid, the balls fly really fast. If Yastremska has her day, Gauff could face some problems. If she doesn't, the American should cruise, similar to what she did against Rus.
Coco Gauff | Dayana Yastremska | |
0 | H2H | 0 |
3 | Rank | 34 |
20 | Age | 23 |
20-6 | 2024 W/L | 14-8 |
195-88 | Career W/L | 226-157 |
This isn't the best matchup for Yastremska because, ideally, she wants to play someone who will give her a lot of free points. A stable player like Gauff will be hard to manage because there is a good chance she will play herself out of many games.
The serve is one thing to note though overall it's still Gauff's match to lose.
Prediction: Coco Gauff to win in two sets.