After a week of excellent tennis at the Korea Open, just four women remain in contention for the title at the Seoul Open and the battle for a spot in the final looks set to be fierce. But who will come out on top?
Korea Open Semifinal Predictions
Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Magda Linette
Head-to-head: first meeting
Both Ekaterina Alexandrova and Magda Linette will surely have real belief that they can go all the way at the Korea Open after discovering a rich vein of form in recent weeks. Alexandrova had a solid run during the North American summer hard-court swing, with her finest moment coming in Toronto where she reached the last 16 as a qualifier. And she has played some good tennis in Seoul, though she has had to battle hard in her last two matches, coming back from a set down to beat both Kristyna Pliskova and Kristie Ahn.
Linette, meanwhile, is in the midst of the best spell of her career. At the New York Open in the Bronx, she won the first tour-level title of her career as a qualifier, before reaching the second round at the US Open and the quarterfinals in Nanchang, where she twice served for a place in the last four. And she has recovered swiftly from that disappointment at the Korea Open, beating Irina-Camelia Begu, Anastasia Potapova and Kirsten Flipkens, all without dropping a set.
Neither woman possesses massive power, but both cover the court well and typically make few cheap unforced errors. Key to Alexandrova’s chances in this match will surely be how effectively she is able to impose herself on Linette’s serve. In her opening match against Greet Minnen, she returned exceptionally, but her level dropped against Pliskova and Ahn. If she cannot find a way to raise it again against Linette, she will surely struggle.
Prediction: Linette in 3
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Wang Yafan vs Karolina Muchova
Head-to-head: first meeting
This should make for an enthralling battle between the impressive consistency of Wang Yafan and the all-court attack of Karolina Muchova. Wang has had a fine season, highlighted by her run to the title in Acapulco and she will surely feel that if she can win this match, she will have a real chance of winning her second title of 2019. So far she has looked sharp at the Korea Open and she delivered her best performance of the week by a distance to thrash Paula Badosa Gibert 6-1 6-3 in the quarterfinals.
However, she will almost certainly face stiffer resistance up against Wimbledon quarterfinalist Muchova. The third seed made a slightly slow start to her tournament up against Alison Van Uytvanck, but after battling past the Belgian in three sets, she has played some excellent tennis, dismissing former-world #9 Timea Babos and Australian qualifier Priscilla Hon with ease. Those victories will surely have given her real confidence heading into this semifinal clash with Wang.
But if she is to beat the Chinese eighth seed, Muchova will need to play on the front foot. Muchova is not one of the biggest hitters on the WTA tour, but she excels at taking the ball early and on the rise which allows her to hurry her opponents. She also possesses good feel at the net, enabling her to finish points in the forecourt. Wang is somewhat less versatile but moves well and will give little away from the back of the court. But in the quick conditions in Seoul, it should be the more offensively minded Muchova who has the edge.
Prediction: Muchova in 3
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