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\u2019s stars are ready to battle for the title. But who will advance on day one in the South Korean capital?<\/p>\n
Head-to-head: <\/strong>Alexandrova 1-0 Minnen<\/p>\n 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\u2019s Greet Minnen, who bested Jana Fett and Sohyun Park to reach the main draw.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Prediction: Alexandrova in 3
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