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

Prediction published on 08/08/2023, 12:34  by Nella Wagah in Tennis Predictions

Top seed Iga Swiatek begins her Canadian Open campaign on Wednesday when she battles unseeded Karolina Pliskova in the second round. The winner here will play either Sorana Cirstea, Anastasia Potapova, or Karolina Muchova in the third round. Iga Swiatek arrives to make her third appearance in this WTA 1000 tournament after winning her fourth title of the year. The Pole triumphed on home soil in the Poland Open in what was her sixth final of a dominant season. She won the tournament without dropping a set and will hope to be as ruthless here. The world number one has compiled a 47-7 record with 21 of her victories coming in 25 outings on hard court. It is on clay however where she has won both of her encounters with Pliskova. She defeated Pliskova in Stuttgart in April in their latest encounter. This was after Pliskova handed her a walkover on her way to the final in Dubai. To tighten her grip on the WTA number one spot, Swiatek has to at least reach the quarterfinals here.

Karolina Pliskova has struggled this season on clay but her form on hard court has been excellent. She will hope this allows her to finally get one over the world number one. A former world number one herself, Pliskova has endured a rocky campaign. She won only her second match in nine outings when she defeated unseeded Zhu Lin in the opening round. That 2-1 win ended a three-match losing run for the Czech. It was her 20th victory in 34 matches this year and the 17th on hard court. Despite the win, Pliskova has dropped two places to 25th in the live ranking after losing 290 points. But as she has in her last two appearances here reached at least the quarterfinals, she will be confident of getting back up. Pliskova is a former finalist in Montreal, achieving the feat in 2021.