Heather Watson vs Marta Kostyuk Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Korea Open

Prediction published on 17/09/2024, 05:40  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 17/09/2024 at 06:39 in Tennis Predictions

Fifth seed Marta Kostyuk faces qualifier Heather Watson for a place in the last eight of the Korea Open. Both players had straight sets wins in the opening round of this tournament. TIme for our second round match prediction.

World number 18 Marta Kostyuk has had a consistent 2024 and is 14th in the WTA Live Race. Her career-high is 16th and the first round of this tournament saw her comfortably beat Arantxa Rus for the loss of only four games.

For the winner of this match, there's a quarter-final against either fourth seed Diana Shnaider or qualifier Carol Zhao. Kostyuk hasn't reached the last eight of a tournament since the Olympics, though that was played on clay.

There have been some good hard court performances by her this year. The last four was reached at Indian Wells, the San Diego final and two other quarter-finals reached, including this year's Australian Open. 

That's far more than her opponent, world number 183 Heather Watson has achieved in 2024. The British player enjoys more success in the doubles these days and is ranked 58th in the world.

Watson won two qualifying round matches in straight sets to make it into the main draw. The first round saw her beat fellow qualifier Lu Jiajing without dropping a set, both being won by a 6-4 scoreline.

Those wins have taken her to 156th in the live rankings. It's still two-and-a-half years since Watson was in the top 100 and is 127th in the WTA Live Race, up 26 places this week. 

There's only been one previous match between these two players. The hard court match in Brisbane was won by Kostyuk in three sets but that was five years ago. We tip Kostyuk to win this in straight sets.