China Open 2023: Coco Gauff vs Ekaterina Alexandrova preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match details
Fixture: (3) Coco Gauff vs Ekaterina Alexandrova
Tournament: China Open 2023
Round: First round (Round of 64)
Venue: National Tennis Center, Beijing, China
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $8,127,389
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Coco Gauff vs Ekaterina Alexandrova preview
World No. 3 Coco Gauff will lock horns with Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round of the 2023 China Open.
Gauff started the year by clinching the third singles title of her career at the ASB Classic in Auckland and progressed to the fourth round of the Australian Open. Aside from some good results in singles, she also captured the doubles title in Doha and Miami with Jessica Pegula.
The clay swing was a little underwhelming for Gauff, though she did cap it off with a quarterfinal finish at the French Open. A first-round exit from Wimbledon then proved to be the turning point for the teenager. She returned to action in Washington at the Citi Open and won the title.
Gauff then lost in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open, but captured the title in Cincinnati the following week. The American continued her winning ways to secure her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open.
Alexandrova defended her title at the Libema Open during the grass season and rode the momentum wave to the fourth round of Wimbledon. It was the first time she made it past the third round of a Major. The Russian also finished as the runner-up at the WTA 250 in Cleveland.
Alexandrova made it to the quarterfinals in Miami and Charleston, along with a semifinal showing in Berlin. Following a third-round exit from the US Open, she has been quite active.
Alexandrova lost in the first round of the San Diego Open, but made it a step further in Guadalajara. She defeated Anna Kalinskaya and Liudmila Samsonova in Tokyo to reach the last eight, where her campaign came to an end against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Coco Gauff vs Ekaterina Alexandrova head-to-head
The two have split their previous two meetings evenly to tie the head-to-head at 1-1. Alexandrova won their most recent encounter at the 2023 Berlin Open in straight sets.
Coco Gauff vs Ekaterina Alexandrova odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Coco Gauff vs Ekaterina Alexandrova prediction
Alexandrova scored an easy win the last time she took on Gauff, but the latter has transformed into a different player since that defeat. The teenager has beefed up her forehand and serve, which coupled with her superb athleticism, has unlocked a new level of success for her.
Alexandrova is a fine ballstriker, but tends to go off the rails quite often. She's known to lose matches from winning positions and against the in-form Gauff, even a minor slip-up could prove to be fatal.
Gauff's on a 12-match winning streak at the moment as well. While she has never played in China prior to this, given her results over the last couple of months, the American's odds of making a winning debut here are quite high.
Pick: Coco Gauff to win in straight sets.