Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Pliskova Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Stuttgart Open

Prediction published on 21/04/2023, 06:03  by Daniel Ngulu in Tennis Predictions

A battle of two champions in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix will unfold on Friday when top seed Iga Swiatek faces off with the unseeded Karolina Pliskova in the quarterfinals. Swiatek is the defending champion while Pliskova won the 2018 title. The match will be played on an indoor clay court and will be the second meeting between the two. Swiatek won the first matchup in dominant fashion to win the Italian Open in 2021. She will seek a similar outcome this time round to set up a semifinal showdown with either third seed Ons Jabeur or the unseeded Beatriz Haddad Maia. Swiatek claimed her third WTA career title at the expense of Pliskova in one of her finest performances as she annihilated the former world number one in straight sets of 6-0, 6-0, taking just 45 minutes to get the job done. You would expect that Pliskova will put up a better account of herself this time around against a player who is odds-on to win not only this match but the tournament altogether. Swiatek has been in fine form this season to maintain her hold on top spot in the world ranking and has won 17 of the 21 matches that she has played so far. This has resulted in two tournament finals with one win (Qatar Open). The Pole defeated unseeded Qinwen Zheng in straight sets in the second round and will use this tournament to help prepare for her title defence at next month’s French Open.

Karolina Pliskova is having a decent season and has won 18 of the 25 matches that she has played so far. She has however not had the privilege to challenge for a title like Swiatek with her highlight of the season being the quarterfinal finish at the Australian Open. Her performance has been enough though to have her return back to the world’s top 20. She prepares for this match with Swiatek ranked 15th in the live ranking which is thanks to her two wins in the tournament. The Czech number three arrived in Stuttgart ranked 17th in the world and started her tournament with an impressive straight-sets win over eighth seed Maria Sakkari. The second-round battle with Donna Vekic wasn’t as smooth, and lasted two hours and 20 minutes with Pliskova needing seven games to win the third set after Vekic had levelled the match with another slugfest in the second set. Having spent three hours and 30 minutes on the court in Stuttgart, this could be what undoes Pliskova against Swiatek.