The Asian Swing is now firmly underway and the action will continue in Seoul at the Korea Open, where a number of the WTA tour’s stars are ready to battle for the title. But who will advance on day one in the South Korean capital?
Korea Open Day One Predictions
Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Greet Minnen
Head-to-head: Alexandrova 1-0 Minnen
The 24-year-old Ekaterina Alexandrova has enjoyed a fine season and maintained her good form during the North American summer hard-court swing, particularly in Toronto where she reached the round of 16. After also picking up main draw wins in Cincinnati and New York, the second seed will surely be targeting a deep run in Korea. But she may need to be at her best up against Belgium’s Greet Minnen, who bested Jana Fett and Sohyun Park to reach the main draw.
That will give her the advantage of being acclimated to the conditions at the Korea Open. But there are 81 places between her and Alexandrova, who won their only previous meeting in Andrezieux-Boutheon in 2016 very comfortably, in the world rankings for a reason. Minnen has certainly improved since then, as her wins in qualifying illustrate. But so too has Alexandrova, who recently cracked the top 40 for the first time in her career. Expect the Russian to prove too strong.
Prediction: Alexandrova in 3
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Choi Ji-Hee vs Kristyna Pliskova
Head-to-head: first meeting
Kristyna Pliskova may not have been able to come close to matching her twin sister’s considerable achievements yet, but that should not detract from the fact that she has put together an impressive career. One that includes a tour-level triumph in Tashkent and a runner-up finish at her home event in Prague. Choi Ji-Hee, a wild card entrant at the Korea Open, has rather less experience. Indeed, she currently finds herself ranked outside the top 800 in singles and has never broken the top 300.
But she has played some good tennis recently, winning her third ITF singles crown in Yeongwol, South Korea, by beating her compatriot Dayeon Back in the final. Nonetheless, facing Pliskova in the main draw of a WTA International-level event is a big step up for Choi, who has not appeared at this level since losing in the first round to Stefanie Voegele at the 2018 Korea Open. Unfortunately for Choi, it is hard to foresee a different outcome this time around.
Prediction: Pliskova in 2
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Kristie Ahn vs Timea Bacsinszky
Head-to-head: first meeting
Fresh from the finest run of her career at the US Open, where she reached the fourth round, Kristie Ahn will look to capitalise on that good form in Seoul, where she has been awarded a wild card. But she may be in for a tough test up against the experienced Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland, once ranked as high as ninth in the world. But Bacsinszky has endured a poor season by her high standards, in no small part due to injuries. Lacking match sharpness, this might just be the worst time for Bacsinszky to take on the in-form Ahn.
Prediction: Ahn in 3
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Magda Linette vs Irina-Camelia Begu
Head-to-head: Linette 2-0 Begu
It has been a superb few weeks for Poland’s Magda Linette who won the New York Open in the Bronx as a qualifier, before reaching the second round at the US Open and the quarterfinals in Nanchang. She may well have been disappointed not to have progressed further at the Jiangxi Open as she twice served for a spot in the last four against eventual champion Rebecca Peterson only to fall just short in a final-set tiebreak.
Irina-Camelia Begu, in contrast, has endured a disappointing season. The Romanian, a four-time champion at tour-level, finds herself on the cusp of falling back outside the top 100 and failed to reach the main draw at the US Open, losing in the second round of qualifying. She also trails 0-2 in her head-to-head with Linette, although the pair have not met since 2010. That said, eight years on, it is hard to see a different outcome.
Prediction: Linette in 2
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