🎾 WTA Madrid: Elina Avanesyan vs Caroline Dolehide

🎾 WTA Madrid: Elina Avanesyan vs Caroline Dolehide – Match Preview

🧠 Form & Context

🇺🇸 Caroline Dolehide

• Trying to rebound: After a tough start to 2025, Dolehide showed signs of life with a quarterfinal run in Austin and a third-round appearance in Indian Wells.
• Rankings dip: Once a top-50 player in 2024, she’s now hovering just inside the top 100.
• Madrid success: Had one of her best WTA 1000 runs here last year, reaching the third round with a solid win over Kalinina.
• Clay challenges: Her aggressive, risk-heavy style is often blunted by red clay, where extended rallies expose her inconsistencies.

🇷🇺 Elina Avanesyan

• On the rise: Broke into the top 40 earlier this year following a strong start that included a semifinal in Hobart and a series of gritty wins in Merida.
• Clay comfort zone: Madrid marks the start of her clay swing—a surface where her movement and defensive skills shine.
• Madrid blues: Yet to win a match in two previous appearances at the Caja Mágica.
• Reliable rhythm: Has made it past the first round in 7 of 9 tournaments in 2025, showing improved consistency.

🔍 Match Breakdown

Madrid’s altitude favors big hitters like Dolehide, who can use her powerful serve and flat groundstrokes to dictate play. But on clay, her margin for error shrinks—especially against a player like Avanesyan, who thrives on redirecting pace and grinding from the baseline.

Avanesyan’s consistency and patience make her the ideal foil for Dolehide’s high-risk style. The Russian has already beaten Dolehide twice—on grass and hard—so the mental edge is in her favor. If she can extend rallies and absorb the first strike, she’ll likely draw enough errors to control the match.

Dolehide has the tools to disrupt, especially if she starts well and serves efficiently. But over the long haul, Avanesyan’s clay IQ and defensive craft give her the edge in this matchup.

🔮 Prediction

Pick: Elina Avanesyan in 3 sets

Dolehide will have her moments and may grab a set, but Avanesyan’s steadiness and tactical clarity should carry her through in the thin Madrid air.