After many issues with rain throughout the week, the 2023 WTA Livesport Prague Open finally got to the final two players left in the draw. The Czech fans will be rooting for their 18-year-old superstar Linda Noskova to claim her first WTA Tour title over Nao Hibino in the Monday final. Who do you think will come out on top?
WTA Prague Final Prediction
Linda Noskova vs Nao Hibino
Head-to-head: Noskova 1-0
Linda Noskova was in big trouble in the second round, falling 1-6 1-3 down against Ankita Raina. The Indian even got to serve for the match, only to drop 9 of the next ten games. Since then, the Czech youngster has been next to unstoppable. She delivered a couple of beatdowns to Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and Tamara Korpatsch, barely dropping games in both matches. This is just her second WTA Tour final after losing to Aryna Sabalenka in Adelaide at the beginning of the season.
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It’s a bit of a miracle that Nao Hibino is in the final in the first place. She first lost in the final qualifying round to Emiliana Arango, winning just one game in the final two sets. After getting a lucky loser spot, the Japanese was almost out to Sara Errani in the first match of the main draw. But of course, she’s a quality player and when given the opportunity she was able to quickly get back on track, playing her best match of the tournament against Tereza Martincova in the quarterfinals.
Even with her incredible potential, Noskova is streaky and tends to have patches of play where nothing is working out for her. Hibino is the kind of competitor who could take advantage of these motivational ups and downs, but it’s impossible to go against the youngster here. Her upside is just that much stronger than the Japanese. The only previous meeting between the two was a quarterfinal at this very event last year, but it’s not going to give us much info as Hibino retired with an injury. The resumption of the semifinal on Monday wasn’t long, so at least from the physical perspective, there shouldn’t be too much of an edge.
Prediction: Noskova in 2
Main Photo Credit: Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK
