- Underdog Madison Keys has won all nine of her grass-court matches this season 
- Keys was a three-set winner in her sole grass-court meeting with Aryna Sabalenka 
- Recommended bet: Over 2.5 sets

World number two Aryna Sabalenka claimed her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January and the Belarusian will have high hopes of following it up at Wimbledon.

Having also made the French Open semi-final last month, Sabalenka is bidding to reach the final four of a Grand Slam for the sixth time in her last eight Major appearances.

That impressive recent Grand Slam record includes a run to the semi-final of the All England Club in 2021. She missed last year's grass-court Major but has impressed on her return and saved her most impressive performance of the tournament for last time out.

The hard-hitting Belarusian met her first seeded opponent of the competition in Den Bosch champion Ekaterina Alexandrova and she bulldozed her way to an emphatic 6-4 6-0 victory.

However, a potentially tougher test awaits for Sabalenka against in-form American Madison Keys, who came from a set down to stop teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva in the last-16.

The rejuvenated American is back in the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time since 2015 and confidence should be flowing for the world number 18 after her recent title triumph at Eastbourne.

The stats

Keys is a perfect nine from nine during this grass-court season, having won five matches to take the title in Eastbourne in preparation for Wimbledon.

The American won each of those Eastbourne encounters in straight sets and she has also won three of her four All England Club assignments 2-0.

However, she needed three sets before outlasting Andreeva in the last round and her only previous meeting with Sabalenka on grass saw her win 6-4 1-6 7-5 in Berlin in 2021.

But 25-year-old Sabalenka has improved markedly since then and she has won 35 of her 42 games this year.

The Belarusian world number two has also triumphed in 37 of her last 45 Grand Slam matches, highlighting her formidability in the showpiece events.

There have been some break-point opportunities for Sabalenka's opponents, with her saving seven of the 12 she has faced at this year's Wimbledon. 

That is nothing on the number for Keys, who has saved 25 of the 31 break-point opportunities she has faced, but that is down to her playing well in the crunch moments, which will help her cause against her powerful opponent.

Prediction

If Sabalenka plays to the best of her ability, then she is going to be difficult to beat, but her aggressive style of play can also mean she hits a lot of unforced errors.

And that may be the case against the red-hot Keys, who has won nine straight matches on the grass and is playing to the kind of level that saw her make the 2017 US Open final.

Keys will take plenty of confidence from her recent form and she did come out on top in her only previous grass-court meeting with Sabalenka, winning in a final-set decider.

Sabalenka has risen to new heights since then and has become a model of consistency in the showpiece events. However, the reliable Keys will make her work hard for her rewards and will be hoping to nullify the Belarusian's power.

With that in mind, this quarter-final clash could be one for the purists.

Back Over 2.5 Sets at 23/20 with LiveScore Bet.