Dubai Tennis Championships 2023: Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Pliskova preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Pliskova
Date: February 23, 2023
Tournament: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2023
Round: Quarterfinals
Venue: Aviation Club Tennis Center, Dubai, UAE
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt
Prize money: $2,788,468
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Pliskova preview
In a battle between the current and former top-ranked players, Iga Swiatek and Karolina Pliskova face off in the quarterfinals in Dubai on Thursday.
Coming off the best season of her career that saw her lift a whopping eight trophies, Swiatek made an underwhelming start to the 2023 season by her lofty standards. She succumbed to straight-sets defeats in the semifinals of the United Cup and the Round of 16 at the Australian Open.
The Pole has, however, found a new lease of life once the tour moved to the Middle East. She dropped just five games on her way to a successful defense of her Doha crown last week.
The World No. 1 continues her deadly form even this week in Dubai. She annihilated Leylah Fernandez 6-1, 6-1 and Liudmila Samsonova 6-1, 6-0 to make the last eight at this WTA 1000 tournament. Having lost in the Round of 16 in Dubai last year, the three-time Grand Slam champion looks doubly determined to make amends this year.
Former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova, meanwhile, has been highly inconsistent so far this year. Following a first-round exit from the Adelaide International 1, the Czech qualified for the main draw of the Adelaide International 2 before losing in the first round.
The two-time Grand Slam runner-up, however, rebounded strongly at the Australian Open to make the quarterfinals.
Back in the Middle East, she has once again been up and down. She lost in the second round in Abu Dhabi but went on to win three qualifying matches to book her place in the main draw at the Qatar Open the very next week. Unfortunately, the Czech meekly surrendered to Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round.
The 2015 Dubai runner-up looks to have found her range this week on her return to the WTA 1000 event. She beat quality opponents in Marketa Vondrousova, Maria Sakkari, and Anhelina Kalinina to make her second quarterfinal of the season.
Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Pliskova head-to-head
Swiatek has a 1-0 lead over Karolina Pliskova in their head-to-head. The Pole double bagelled Pliskova in a one-sided Rome final in 2021.
Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Pliskova odds
(Odds sourced from oddschecker.com)
Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Pliskova prediction
Pliskova would like to forget her last outing against Swiatek. The Pole gave her no chance at all before racing away to a 6-0, 6-0 victory.
The lanky Czech is the kind of player that Swiatek likes toying with. Although the World No. 18 has a booming serve, her ground game isn't efficient enough to withstand pressure from the World No. 1. Swiatek will look to expose the Czech's limited movement by aiming for sharp angles and aggressive returns.
Additionally, the top seed should be very fresh coming into this contest while Pliskova has already played three matches, including a two-hour-45-minute marathon in the previous round.
Should there be a dip in Pliskova's intensity, Swiatek will run away with the win.
Pick: Iga Swiatek to win in straight sets.