A wild samba?

The Kazakh one seems a bit stiff to start dancing ^^

I was expecting to see a different side of Putintseva, but her last match reminded me of a simple saying: you can’t change someone’s true nature. Heavy tennis, no real desire, sometimes grotesque unforced errors against Emma Navarro, and a racket flying at the end of the match, clear sign of deep frustration. In that state, Yulia tightens up and her own weapons turn against her.

The Brazilian, on the other hand, played an interesting match against the future Adelaide finalist in three sets. She found solutions to pose problems for a young Canadian who was otherwise very complete throughout this tournament. Her serving stats can only improve on a surface like the Australian Open. The Brazilian lefty can quickly close out rallies from the baseline and prevent a recurring pattern from the Kazakh, who is sorely lacking in variety.

Haddad Maia has always beaten Yulia, as confirmed by the Kazakh’s poor statistics against left-handers. It’s now been nine years since her last quarterfinal in Melbourne, without any truly notable run since. In the end, her profile will always be better suited to clay, unlike Beatriz, who is playing here on her favorite surface. A long, very heavy match is to be expected.