Marie Bouzkova won the 2022 Livesport WTA Prague Open and will be hoping to defend her title in 2023. Now top-seeded at this event, she’s definitely among the main favorites. The Czech will open her campaign against Jaqueline Cristian on Monday. We also predict the rest of the day’s matches in a separate article. Who do you think will come out on top?
WTA Prague Day 1 Predictions
Dayana Yastremska vs Kateryna Baindl
Head-to-head: Yastremska 1-0
Kateryna Baindl’s final in Budapest a couple of weeks ago was her first one at the WTA Tour since 2018. Now we’ll get to see whether the resurgence will last long in an all-Ukrainian clash with Dayana Yastremska. The 23-year-old had to start from the qualifying draw and was as clinical as possible, dropping just five games. If she can blast the ball as she did in a double-bagel win over Ankita Raina, she should be fine here with her much-higher ceiling.
Prediction: Yastremska in 2
Viktoria Hruncakova vs Xinyu Wang
Head-to-head: First meeting
Xinyu Wang was the semifinalist at this event back in 2021, but suffered an opening round exit the year after. Now she finds herself in Prague after not playing since Wimbledon. With Viktoria Hruncakova, lots might be decided by the Slovak’s fitness. She had to play about three sets on Sunday and that might take its toll as conditioning is definitely not one of her assets. That huge serve and aggressive ball-striking will let her keep points short though and might help her win regardless.
Prediction: Hruncakova in 3
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Marie Bouzkova vs Jaqueline Cristian
Head-to-head: Bouzkova 3-0
Two of their three head-to-head meetings are basically ancient history, but Marie Bouzkova also won the more relevant one at Hobart earlier this year. The Czech is the defending champion in Prague, prevailing over Anastasia Potapova last year in a famous final where she didn’t have to land a single winner. It doesn’t seem like Jaqueline Cristian will be a threat here, also with the Romanian being on back-to-back ITF first-round losses on hard courts.
Prediction: Bouzkova in 2
Main Photo Credit: BNP Paribas Open Desirae Krawczyk 411
