Two-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber will return to the pinnacle of the WTA rankings next Monday. Reigning Australian Open champion Serena Williams' points will drop off next Monday after winning the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome last year. Williams will be missing the remainder of the WTA season in 2017 due to pregnancy. Kerber had a mediocre clay court season last year after reaching the semifinals in Charleston and winning the title in Stuttgart. However, the clay court campaign ended in disaster for Kerber as she suffered three consecutive first-round clay-court events in Madrid, Rome and the French Open. The German will be hoping that she fares better in Madrid, Rome and Paris this year.
Kerber's quest for the first title in Madrid continues against former world number five Eugenie Bouchard. Bouchard had a stellar breakthrough 2014 campaign when she advanced to the semifinals of the Australian Open and French Open. The 23-year-old also advanced to her maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon that same year, losing to Petra Kvitova. Unfortunately, Bouchard was unable to back up her results in 2015 and slid down the rankings. Nevertheless, currently ranked at 60 in the world, Bouchard is looking to charge up the rankings, and a scalp over Kerber, after defeating former world number one Maria Sharapova in the previous round, will be a perfect platform for Bouchard to build on.
Kerber's route to the third round
The world number two won her first match in Madrid since reaching the quarterfinals in 2013. Kerber defeated hard-hitting Hungaryan Timea Babos, 6-4, 6-2. However, in the second round, the reigning US Open champion suffered an almighty scare against Katerina Siniakova. Kerber cruised through the opening set but she stopped playing good tennis in the second set which allowed the Czech to take advantage and win the second set. However, Siniakova led the final set 5-3 but the German produced a remarkable comeback, winning four games consecutively to defeat Siniakova, 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 and seal her place in the third round.
Bouchard's route to the third round
Bouchard's path to the third round in Madrid hasn't been easy. The Canadian had a first round match with the erratic Frenchwoman, Alize Cornet. Bouchard defeated Cornet to reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2014. It was a three set tussle which Bouchard prevailed, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 to reach the second round. The tennis world was excited for the anticipated clash between Bouchard and Sharapova. The former world number five made comments about Sharapova's return to tennis, and she didn't hold back. Nevertheless, Bouchard backed up her comments by defeating the five-time Grand Slam champion, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.
Their history
Kerber and Bouchard have met on five occasions, and the world number 60 has a slender 3-2 head-to-head record over the former world number one. Kerber leads 2-0 on hard courts, whilst Bouchard has the edge on clay courts leading 2-0 and 1-0 on grass courts.
The top seed won their first encounter in the second round of the US Open in 2013, which was a three-set victory for the future US Open champion, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. However, Bouchard would win the next three consecutive meetings starting with a 6-1, 6-2 thrashing in the fourth round of the French Open in 2014. The Canadian won their second successive Grand Slam meeting in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, 6-3, 6-4. Kerber seemed to have levelled their head-to-head rivalry in Rome by leading in the final set but those chances were thwarted after a remarkable comeback by the Canadian. Bouchard won the match, 6-1, 5-7, 7-5. The German stopped the rot and defeated Bouchard for the first time in three years at the Rio Olympics with a 6-4, 6-2 victory.
Who reaches the quarterfinals?
This is a good opportunity for Kerber to go on a deep run in clay court event. It is the third Premier Mandatory event of the year at the Caja Magica, and the two-time Slam champion would like to get some confidence-boosting victories. Kerber has struggled against Bouchard in the past but the German will need to serve extremely well in this contest, and the former world number one's second serve is attackable. It is strange that the top seed didn't try to improve her second serve during the off-season which is another reason why Kerber has been struggling recently in 2017. The 29-year-old's forehand down the line, and gaining winners from impossible positions have been part a recipe of success for Kerber over the years.
For Bouchard to be victorious in this match, she will need to show the same commitment and aggression, that she brought out onto the court to defeat Sharapova. Bouchard likes to play aggressive tennis on the baseline, and the 23-year-old has excellent movement on clay.
This is the fourth match scheduled on the Manolo Santana court at not before 8 pm local time, and the winner of this match will face eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova or Chinese qualifier Qiang Wang in the quarterfinals.
Prediction: Kerber in three sets.