Dubai Tennis Championships 2023: Barbora Krejcikova vs Daria Kasatkina preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (7) Daria Kasatkina vs Barbora Krejcikova
Date: 21 February, 2023
Tournament: Dubai Tennis Championships 2023
Round: Second round (round of 32)
Venue: Aviation Club Tennis Center, Dubai
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt
Prize money: $2,788,468
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Daria Kasatkina vs Barbora Krejcikova preview
Seventh seed Daria Kasatkina will face Barbora Krejcikova in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday.
Kasatkina started her 2023 season at the Adelaide International 1 and suffered a 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-3 defeat to eventual runner-up Linda Noskova in the opening-round. She then competed at the Adelaide International 2 as the fifth seed and reached the final with wins over Barbora Krejcikova, Petra Kvitova and Paula Badosa (walkover). Here, she was thrashed 6-0, 6-2 by Belinda Bencic.
The Russian then suffered a first-round exit at the Australian Open before reaching the quarterfinals of the Abu Dhabi Open, where she lost 6-1, 6-2 to Zheng Qinwen. She then entered the Qatar Open as the sixth seed and reached the second round before losing 6-3, 7-6(7) to Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Barbora Krejcikova has won six out of 10 singles matches so far this season. She started 2023 at the Adelaide International 2 and won her opening match against Alison Riske before losing 6-2, 7-5 to Daria Kasatkina.
The Czech then competed at the Australian Open as the 20th seed and reached the fourth round following wins over Sara Beljek, Clara Burel and Anhelina Kalinina before being beaten 7-5, 6-2 by third seed Jessica Pegula.
Krejcikova then entered the Abu Dhabi Open and beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-1, 6-4 before losing 7-5, 7-6(8) to eighth seed and eventual runner-up Liudmila Samsonova. She followed this up with an opening-round exit at the Qatar Open, losing 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(5) to eighth seed Veronika Kudermetova.
Krejcikova then competed at the Dubai Tennis Championships and booked her place in the second round with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Irina-Camelia Begu.
Daria Kasatkina vs Barbora Krejcikova head-to-head
The head-to-head between the two players currently stands at 1-1. Their last meeting came in the second round of this season's Adelaide international 2 with Kasatkina winning 6-2, 7-5.
Daria Kasatkina vs Barbora Krejcikova odds
All odds are sourced from BETMGM.
Barbora Krejcikova vs Daria Kasatkina prediction
Kasatkina will enter the match as the favorite to win but Krejcikova should not be written off as she is capable of defeating the Russian if she is at her very best.
Kasatkina is a solid defensive player who often outsmarts her opponents with her sudden change of pace in rallies and variety of shots. The Russian will look to mix her groundstrokes with slices and drop shots. She will look to draw unforced errors out of Krejcikova.
The Czech loves to play aggressively, but she often deploys calculated aggression, which helps her maintain a low unforced error count, something which can come in handy against someone like Kasatkina. If Krejcikova is at her best. she stands a fair chance of winning the match.
However, Kasatkina's craftiness and variety could see her get the better of the Czech and reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.