Italian Open 2023: Coco Gauff vs Yulia Putintseva preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (6) Coco Gauff vs Yulia Putintseva
Date: May 11, 2023
Tournament: Italian Open 2023
Round: Second Round (Round of 64)
Venue: Foro Italico, Rome, Italy
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Outdoor clay
Prize money: €7,705,780
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Coco Gauff vs Yulia Putintseva preview
Sixth seed Coco Gauff will face Yulia Putintseva in the second round of the Italian Open on Thursday.
Gauff has won 17 out of 24 matches so far this season, including a title-winning run at the ASB Classic in Auckland. The 19-year-old started her European clay-court season at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, where she reached the Round of 16 before losing 6-2, 6-3 to eventual semifinalist Anastasia Potapova.
The American then suffered a third-round exit at the Madrid Open at the hands of Paula Badosa, 6-3, 6-0. Being one of the seeded players, Gauff received a bye to the second round of the Italian Open.
Yulia Putintseva has won ten out of 21 matches so far this season, with her best performance being reaching the quarterfinals of the Hobart International, where she beat Claire Liu and Nuria Parrizas-Diaz before losing to Anna Blinkova.
The Kazakh started the European clay-court season at the Madrid Open and lost 6-3, 6-4 to Caroline Garcia in the second round. She then entered the Italian Open and faced Viktoriya Tomova in the opening round. Putintseva beat Viktoriya Tomova 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-0 to book her place in the second round of the WTA 1000 tournament.
Coco Gauff vs Yulia Putintseva head-to-head
Gauff leads 2-0 in the head-to-head against Putintseva. The last match between the two came in the second round of the 2022 Madrid Open, with the American winning 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.
Coco Gauff vs Yulia Putintseva odds
All odds are sourced from BETMGM.
Coco Gauff vs Yulia Putintseva prediction
Gauff will enter the match as the favorite to win considering her higher ranking. However, Putintseva is a tough player to beat when she is at her best.
Gauff hits her shots with a lot of power and will look to attack from the start. The American also has a pretty good net game due to her doubles experience. However, she has often suffered lapses in consistency, even against lower-ranked opponents and will have to be composed throughout the match.
Putintseva won 67 out of 119 points on her serve in her last match while not faring too badly on the return, winning 61 out of 118 points. The Kazakh had a tough battle in her last match against Viktoriya Tomova and will be feeling the effects of it, which might add to Gauff's advantage.
The American will be heavily favored to win the match and should have little trouble getting the better of Putintseva and qualifying for the third round of the Italian Open.
Pick: Gauff to win in straight sets.