Australian Open 2023: Jessica Pegula vs Barbora Krejcikova preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (3) Jessica Pegula vs Barbora Krejcikova
Tournament: Australian Open 2023
Date: January 22, 2023
Round: Fourth Round (Round of 16)
Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: A$76,500,000
Live telecast: USA - ESPN | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Six, Sony Ten & Sony Liv
Jessica Pegula vs Barbora Krejcikova preview
Third seed Jessica Pegula will face 20th seed Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Sunday.
Pegula has had a terrific start to the season, winning seven out of eight singles matches so far. She was instrumental in the United States winning the United Cup, triumphing in all but one of her matches, including a win over Iga Swiatek.
The 28-year-old then entered the Australian Open as the third seed and thrashed Romanian qualifier Jaqueline Cristian 6-0, 6-1. She followed this up by beating Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 7-6(5) to reach the third round. Here, the World No. 3 thrashed Marta Kostyuk to book her place in the last 16.
Krejcikova started her 2023 season at the Adelaide International 2 and beat Alison Riske 6-2, 7-6(3) in the first round. However, she lost 6-2, 7-5 to eventual runner-up Daria Kasatkina in the round of 16.
The Czech entered the Australian Open as the 20th seed and started the tournament by beating compatriot Sara Beljek 6-3, 6-1. She then triumphed 6-4, 6-1 over Frenchwoman Clara Burel to reach the third round.
Here, Krejcikova faced Anhelina Kalinina and defeated her 6-2, 6-3 to seal her place in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Jessica Pegula vs Barbora Krejcikova head-to-head
The head-to-head between the two players stands at 0-0 as they haven't locked horns before.
Jessica Pegula vs Barbora Krejcikova odds
All odds are sourced from BETMGM.
Jessica Pegula vs Barbora Krejcikova prediction
Pegula has been in dominant form throughout the Australian Open and will enter the match as the favorite to win. However, she may not have it easy against Krejcikova, who has only dropped 14 games so far and is looking to return to the singles form she had a couple of years back.
Pegula has been very strong on her first serve in Melbourne Park, winning 74% of points (77 out of 104). Her second serve, though, could do with some improvement as she has only won 44.45% of points (28 out of 63).
The American has also exploited her opponent's second serve throughout the tournament, winning 50 out of 67 points there. Hence, Krejcikova will have to get as many first serves in as she can.
The Czech has been strong in her service games throughout the tournament (101 out of 159) while also doing fairly well while returning (94 out of 173). However, she has amassed 68 unforced errors so far and cannot afford to hit too many of those against someone of Pegula's quality.
Krejcikova did well to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open but Pegula has been in scintillating form lately and will most likely pip her to the quarterfinals.
Pick: Pegula to win in three sets.