Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Muchova preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick | French Open 2023, Final
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Muchova
Tournament: French Open 2023
Round: Final
Venue: Paris, France
Date: Saturday, June 10
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor clay
Prize money: €49,600,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel, NBC Sports, Peacock TV | Canada - TSN | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Ten
Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Muchova preview
Top seed Iga Swiatek will face Karolina Muchova in the French Open final on Saturday.
Swiatek has been in exemplary form in Paris and started the clay-court Major with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Cristina Bucsa. She then defeated Claire Liu by the same scoreline to reach the third round. Here, the Pole thrashed Wang Xinyu, 6-0, 6-0 before winning her fourth-round match against Lesia Tsurenko as the Ukrainian was forced to retire due to illness.
Swiatek faced Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals and beat her 6-4, 6-2 to set up a semifinal clash against Beatriz Haddad Maia. Swiatek won the opening set 6-2, but Haddad Maia showed a lot of fight in the second set. Swiatek saved a set point in the second set tiebreak before winning it 7-6(7) to book her place in the final.
Karolina Muchova has been arguably the biggest surprise package of the 2023 French Open. She beat eighth seed Maria Sakkari 7-6(5), 7-5 in her opener and then got the better of Nadia Podoroska to reach the third round.
Here, Muchova ousted Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3, 6-2 before beating Elina Avanesyan 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals. She triumphed 7-5, 6-2 over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to set up a semifinal clash against Aryna Sabalenka.
Muchova did well to take the opening set of the last four clash, but Sabalenka took the second. The 26-year-old saved a match point in the third set before winning it 7-5 to reach her first Grand Slam final.
Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Muchova head-to-head
Muchova currently leads 1-0 in the head-to-head between the two, having previously beaten Swiatek 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of the 2019 Prague Open.
Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Muchova odds
Odds are sourced from BETMGM.
Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Muchova prediction
Swiatek will enter the match as the overwhelming favorite to win, but Muchova will be in good spirits after defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals and is capable of putting up a fight against the Pole.
Swiatek was very strong on her first serve against Haddad Maia, winning 33 out of 46 points. Her second serve, however, was not particularly good, as she won only 13 out of 30 points and made four double faults.
The Pole produced some terrific winners against Haddad Maia but also made 26 unforced errors. Swiatek's aggressive style helps her put the pressure on her opponents, but she will need to be careful not to lose control of her shots.
Swiatek's on-court movement and the ability to alter her style of play when needed should come in handy in the final.
Muchova won 49 out of 79 points (62.03%) on her first serve and served six aces in her semifinal against Sabalenka. Her second serve was even better, winning 31 out of 48 points (64.6%). Muchova made 27 unforced errors but produced a considerably higher winner count of 38.
Muchova has a wide range of shots at her disposal and will have to use all of those in the final. She will look to dominate her service games while looking for the odd decisive break.
Muchova will need to play the game of her life to come out on top on Saturday. However, Swiatek's current form makes her the outright favorite and she should be able to win her fourth Grand Slam title.
Prediction: Swiatek to win the 2023 French Open final