Citi Open 2023: Coco Gauff vs Hailey Baptiste preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (3) Coco Gauff vs (Q) Hailey Baptiste
Date: August 2, 2023
Tournament: Citi Open 2023
Round: Second round (Round of 16)
Venue: Washington D.C., United States
Category: WTA 500
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $780,637
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video | Canada - TSN
Coco Gauff vs Hailey Baptiste preview
Compatriots Coco Gauff and Hailey Baptiste are set to clash in the second round of the 2023 Citi Open on Wednesday.
Gauff started the season by winning the title at the ASB Classic in Auckland. Her unbeaten run came to an end in the fourth round of the Australian Open. Following quarterfinal finishes in Doha, Dubai and Indian Wells, she lost in the third round of the Miami Open.
Gauff didn't register back-to-back victories on clay in the lead-up to the French Open, but still made it to the last eight in Paris. She lost to Iga Swiatek in a rematch of last year's final.
The American's grass swing was off to a rough start as she was shown the door by Ekaterina Alexandrova in the second round at Berlin. Gauff rebounded by making it to the semifinals of the Eastbourne International.
The teenager was expected to do well at Wimbledon, but crashed out in the first round itself as she went down fighting against Sofia Kenin in three sets. As the third seed at the Citi Open, she received a first-round bye.
Meanwhile, Baptiste defeated Alycia Parks and Peyton Stearns in the qualifying rounds to make the main draw cut in Washington. She was drawn against former World No. 1 and two-time Major finalist Karolina Pliskova in the first round.
Baptiste came out the gate swinging as she dropped just one game in the first set to clinch it. Pliskova responded strongly by dishing out a bagel to take the second set. The American then broke her opponent's serve twice in the deciding set to win the match 6-1, 0-6, 6-3.
Coco Gauff vs Hailey Baptiste head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between the two, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Coco Gauff vs Hailey Baptiste odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Coco Gauff vs Hailey Baptiste prediction
Baptiste did well enough to get a huge scalp under her belt by ousting Pliskova. After a dismal second set, the American went for her shots in the third set, even stringing together 10 points in a row.
Gauff will be eager to put her disappointing run at Wimbledon behind her and start the hardcourt swing on a positive note. Baptiste has a fairly good all-court game, but struggles with consistency. The 21-year-old is yet to leave a mark on the WTA tour, with her win over Pliskova being just her second victory of the season.
While the loopholes in Gauff's game are well documented, she rarely allows players ranked so far below her to take advantage of them. As such, the teenager should be able to outplay her fellow American to advance further.
Pick: Coco Gauff to win in straight sets.