Clara Burel vs Aryna Sabalenka Prediction & Betting Tips - US Open, New York, USA

Prediction published on 01/09/2023, 13:51  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 02/09/2023 at 03:00 in Tennis Predictions

Aryna Sabalenka is currently top of the rankings in both the live list and the WTA Race. The second seed takes on unseeded Clara Burel in the third round of the US Open. The winner will face either 13th seed Daria Kasatkina or qualifier Greet Minnen in the last 16. To end the tournament as world number one in the overall rankings, iga Swiatek has to get a better result than Sabalenka. With both players in different halves of the draw, we could well end up with a final where the title and world number one spot is on the line. The 25-year-old has already won one Grand Slam title this year and that was also on a hard court. This week has gone well so far with two straight sets wins with only five games dropped in both of them. This is the second successive year in which these two players have met in the US Open third round. Last year saw Sabalenka win for the loss of two games, all in the first set.

Clara Burel began this tournament ranked 62nd in the world. The French Open and this tournament are the only two Grand Slams in which the 22-year-old has reached the third round. Burel is defending the points earned when reaching this stage in New York last year, so is down to 66th in the live rankings. In the Live WTA Race, the French player is in 62nd place. Clay is her best surface and in WTA hard court tournaments, this is the first time all year that she's win two main draw matches. Round one saw Burel beat Caroline Dolehide and then caused a shock with a straight sets win over 25th seeded Karolina Pliskova. Sabalenka remains in good form and can win this match in straight sets.