The top seed Serena Williams will play unseeded Yulia Putintseva for a place in the semifinals of the French Open, held on the clay courts in Paris, France.
Recent Results
By her own lofty standards, the season started disappointingly for Williams as she failed to win a title until Rome two weeks ago. Finals defeats at the Australian Open and Indian Wells to Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka respectively were followed by a fourth round loss to Svetlana Kuznetsova in Miami. However, the switch to the clay appears to have re-galvanized the American who has yet to drop a set in nine matches on the surface.
Having battled hard to subdue Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 7-6(10) in the third round, the world number one was all business against the 20th ranked Elina Svitolina, powering through the heavy conditions and her opponent 6-1, 6-1 to reach her 10th French Open quarterfinal.
Putintseva isn't accustomed to this level of success at such a big event, at best reaching the semifinal at an International level event in Kaohsiung this year. However, the Kazakh has shown aptitude on clay, reaching the quarterfinals in Charleston and Rabat, beating Venus Williams en route in the former.
The world number 60 dropped only eight games in her first three matches, accounting for the 2014 semifinalist Andrea Petkovic in the second round. In the last sixteen, Putintseva edged the 14th ranked Carla Suarez Navarro 7-5, 7-5 to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Past Experience
A winner of 70 singles titles, Williams is looking to equal Steffi Graf's 'Open Era' record for the most major titles at 22. Despite winning the French Open on three occasions in 2002, 2013 and 2015, the 34-year-old has proved most vulnerable at the quarterfinal stages of this tournament, losing on five previous occasions.
In contrast, a third round showing at this year's Australian Open was hitherto the best Grand Slam performance for Putintseva. With no titles to her name and a career high ranking of 53, the 21-year-old is bidding to become the first woman from her country to reach a Grand Slam semifinal.
Head-to-Head
Williams leads the head-to-head 2-0 with both previous meetings following a very similar trend. In both Madrid 2013 and Indian Wells this year, the first set was very close and decided on a tiebreaker before Williams romped away with the second. Therefore, it's clear that Putintseva can live with her opponent for a time and must ensure that she secures the first set on this occasion.
The top seed is looking ominous this year as her phenomenal power enables her to hit through the heavy, rain-laden courts. As in their past meetings, it may take Williams some time to settle down but she'll surely score when returning her opponent's weak serve.
Putintseva is certainly a dynamic, feisty player who makes the most of her five foot four-inch frame and prefers to play a counterpunching game centred around solid groundstrokes and fine drop shots. This could certainly prove to be an effective tactic given the conditions of the courts, though she must ensure she doesn't allow her volatile emotions to bubble over if things aren't going her way.
Without a single non-retirement assisted top 10 win to her credit, Putintseva will struggle against the defending champion and as their previous meetings indicate, once Williams finds her feet in their matches, she runs away with them.
Prediction: Serena Williams in straight sets