Jabeur O. vs Rybakina E. Preview and Betting Tips

🥎 WTA Singles Wimbledon Predictions

⏰ 12 July 2023 - 22:30 AEST

🌿 Surface - Grass

🏟 Location - London, United Kingdom

Elena Rybakina continues her title defence campaign after the unfortunate first-set retirement of 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia. Following a couple of difficult matches against Shelby Rogers and Alize Cornet, the third seed has lost only three games in the last two rounds (d. Katie Boulter, 6-1, 6-1).

These are all positive signs for her given she was recently struck by a long bout of illness, which caused a withdrawal from the third round of Roland-Garros. She has become the best-performing women's defending champion at Wimbledon since Serena Williams' successful title defence in 2016.

The Kazakh, who hasn't won any grass-court title besides Wimbledon, has reached the second week at the All England Club third time in a row and won 14 of her first 15 career matches here. Only two other women in the open era have equalled or exceeded that record: Billie Jean King and Maria Sharapova.

She leads the field in serving games win percentage (32/33) and average first serve speed. The world No. 3 has won two of her three career slam quarterfinals, including reaching the final of the Australian Open in January, and stands tall with titles in Indian Wells and Rome, and a final in Miami this season.

Ons Jabeur confirmed a rematch of last year's final after toying with two-time champion Petra Kvitova, 6-0, 6-3, on centre court. She didn't have to work too hard in recording her third straight-set win of the campaign as her opponent, the Berlin champion, melted with four winners to 26 unforced errors.

The sixth seed earlier dismissed qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan, 6-1, 6-1, in 45 minutes and Magdalena Frech, 6-3, 6-3, while rallying against Bianca Andreescu in the third round. She has become the first woman to reach three consecutive Wimbledon quarterfinals since Sabine Lisicki and Petra Kvitova in 2014.

Two years ago, the Tunisian was stopped at the last-eight stage at Wimbledon by Aryna Sabalenka. In 2022, she surged into her maiden Grand Slam semifinal and final at this very venue and stood a set away from lifting the trophy. It was followed by another runner-up finish at the US Open months later.

She is looking to overcome her 2-3 record in Grand Slam quarterfinals, with the latest bid falling short to Beatriz Haddad Maia at Roland-Garros last month, 3-6, 7-6, 6-1. A semifinal now would greatly uplift a season which has been marked by a couple of injury issues (skipped the Middle East, retired in Stuttgart).

📋 Head-to-head: 2-2. Three of their four clashes have gone to the third set (the other one ended with the Kazakh's retirement in Chicago 2021). They are about to meet for the first time since Elena Rybakina's 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 triumph at the Wimbledon final, in what was their first meeting outside hard courts.