Coco Gauff could potentially rise to the No. 2 position in the WTA rankings following her performance at the Madrid Open. Day 3 of the tournament features several exciting matchups, including Ons Jabeur facing Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. Our WTA experts provide predictions for each match on day 3, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the players involved.
American Coco Gauff, the reigning US Open champion and third seed in Madrid, will face Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands in the third round of the Madrid Open on Thursday. Gauff, who has twice been eliminated in the third round of the tournament in 2022 and 2023, aims to advance further this year. The 20-year-old has won two WTA 1000 titles, the Cincinnati Open in 2023 and the Auckland Open in January, and has reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and reached the final eight at Indian Wells. Gauff will face the experienced Rus, who is almost 14 years her senior. Rus won her first and only WTA Tour title on clay at the Hamburg European Open last year and has reached the quarter-finals in Hobart, Rouen, and Transylvania this year.
