French Open: Victoria Azarenka vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6/6/21 Tennis Prediction

Victoria Azarenka (15) of Belarus will face Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (31) in the Round of 16 of the 2021 French Open. The match is scheduled to be played on Sunday June 6th, 2021 at a time yet to be determined.

Former world number one Victoria Azarenka seeks to return to the Quarter-Finals here at Roland Garros for the first time since 2013. The Belarusian #2 reached the Semis here back in 2013 and the draw is opening up nicely for her and she has the opportunity to repeat that performance. She has struggled a bit with injuries this year, but has started her campaign well here in Paris, most impressively defeating Madison Keys 6-2, 6-2 in the Third Round. She considers hard courts her favorite surface but has done decently on clay throughout her career, and is the favorite here against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is currently ranked #32 in the WTA rankings and is a former world number 13. After struggling to begin this year she has started well here, including a shocking upset of Aryna Sabalenka in the Third Round. Sabalenka was one of the favorites for the title here at the French Open, and the Russian will be delighted to have claimed that huge scalp. Like her opponent Victoria Azarenka she is highly experienced, and while she is the underdog I give her a fighting chance of advancing here.

This has the potential to be a tight match between two veterans of the WTA Tour. Both women are playing extremely well and have similar styles. I am going to back Victoria Azarenka to win here, as she seems to be in better form and is a bit more solid. I think that it will go the distance, but Azarenka will win and advance to the Quarters yet again here in Paris.