Adelaide International 2024: Taylor Townsend vs Marta Kostyuk preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (LL) Taylor Townsend vs Marta Kostyuk
Date: January 10, 2024
Tournament: Adelaide International 2024
Round: Second Round (Round of 16)
Venue: Memorial Drive Tennis Centre, Adelaide, Australia
Category: WTA 500
Surface: Outdoor hard
Prize money: $922,573
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports
Taylor Townsend vs Marta Kostyuk preview
Taylor Townsend will face off against Marta Kostyuk in the second round of the 2024 Adelaide International on Wednesday.
Townsend's journey in Adelaide commenced in the qualifying rounds itself. She battled past Tina Smith in three sets, but Claire Liu put an end to her campaign after that.
Townsend then got a second shot following Marketa Vondrousova's withdrawal, and made it to the main draw as a lucky loser. She faced Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round and emerged victorious in two competitive sets with a scoreline of 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Kostyuk was supposed to go through the grind of qualifiers as well, but got promoted to the main draw after a spate of withdrawals. She was up against compatriot Anhelina Kalinina in the first round.
Kostyuk trailed by a break thrice in the opening set, but managed to get back on level terms on each occasion. She even stopped Kalinina from serving out the set at 6-5 and forced a tie-break.
After being on the backfoot for most of the set, Kostyuk raised her level in the tie-break to nab the opener. She ran away with the match after that, as she lost just one game in the second set en route to a 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory.
Taylor Townsend vs Marta Kostyuk head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Taylor Townsend vs Marta Kostyuk odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Taylor Townsend vs Marta Kostyuk prediction
After playing catch up for most of the first set in her first-round match, Kostyuk turned the tables on her opponent and started to dictate the play to triumph. She was aided by a strong performance on serve as she blasted 10 aces, but also threw in seven double faults.
Townsend made the most of her second chance to get the better of Sasnovich. She's the type of player who could give Kostyuk a tough time in the next round. The American's doubles experience has made her quite adept around the net.
Townsend's reflexes are pretty good and times her volleys and drops shots perfectly. Kostyuk is the player with more singles success, though, while the American has mainly played the role of an upset specialist.
If Kostyuk is able to dictate the terms right off the bat, Townsend could find it difficult to employ her tactics. However, if the former falls prey to the latter's variety, the American could continue her run in Adelaide.
Pick: Marta Kostyuk to win in three sets.