Marta Kostyuk vs Daria Kasatkina Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Brisbane

Prediction published on 31/12/2023, 14:35  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 31/12/2023 at 15:35 in Tennis Predictions

Fifth seed Daria Kasatkina takes on unseeded Marta Kostyuk in the hard court Brisbane International second round. The winner of this match will face either ninth seed Magda Linette or unseeded Bucsa in round three. Kasatkina begins the new season ranked 18th in the world and had a strong end to her 2023 WTA Tour. That saw her reach the last eight in Tokyo and the semi-finals in Zhengzhou. Her last tournament was the Elite Trophy, getting wins over Barbora Krejcikova (who'd beaten her in Zhengzhou) and possible third round opponent Magda Linette before losing to Beatriz Haddad Maia. 2023 highlights for Kasatkina included reaching two finals in Adelaide (on hard court) and the grass court event held in Eastbourne.

One thing is for sure in this match and that is Marta Kostyuk won't shake the hand of her Russian opponent.  The Ukrainian began this tournament ranked 38th in the world. Her career high is six places higher than that and was achieved in August 2023. Kostyuk won a hard court tournament held in Austin, Texas last March but hasn't had a tremendous amount of success since then. The rest of the year saw her only reach one quarter final in Washington in August. The pair are 2-2 in previous meetings but Kasatkina has won the last two, most recently in Tokyo. Kostyuk struggled in the first round and needed to come from a set down to get past Ana Bogdan. Kasatkina is our tip to win this match.