Korea Open 2024 Day 3: Women's singles & doubles predictions ft. Liudmila Samsonova vs Veronika Kudermetova
Day 3 at the 2024 Korea Open will see second-round action commence in the women's singles draw. The opening couple of days saw the first-round encounters.
Second seed Liudmila Samsonova and fourth seed Diana Shnaider will open their campaigns in the capital city on Wednesday after receiving byes in the first round. They will take on Veronika Kudermetova and Carol Zhao, respectively.
Fifth seed Marta Kostyuk will also feature against Brit Heather Watson. Kostyuk brushed aside Arantxa Rus in her opener, conceding just five games en route to the win. After beating Varvara Lepchenko in three sets, seventh seed Ekaterina Alexandrova will take on compatriot Polina Kudermetova.
With plenty of action in store for fans, here are the predictions for some of the women’s singles and doubles matches on the day.
#4 Miyu Kato and Shuai Zhang vs Arantxa Rus & Ulrikke Eikeri
Third seeds Miyu Kato and Shuai Zhang will face Arantxa Rus and Ulrikke Eikeri in the first round. Although neither pair has played together recently, Kato and Zhang reached the finals of the Birmingham Classic earlier this year, where they lost to Elise Mertens and Hsieh Su-wei in straight sets.
Notably, Kato won the Hua Hin Championships this year with Aldila Sutjiadi, while Zhang reached the finals of the US Open women’s doubles alongside Kristina Mladenovic.
Eikeri, meanwhile, reached one WTA final this season at the Stuttgart Grand Prix with Ingrid Neel. In contrast, Rus hasn't found much success on the doubles circuit, primarily plying her trade in singles.
Given their superior doubles record and recent form, Kato and Zhang will be favored to win this encounter.
Pick: Kato and Zhang in straight sets.
#3 Giuliana Olmos & Alexandra Panova vs Ekaterina Alexandrova & Yana Sizikova
Third seeds Giuliana Olmos and Alexandra Panova will face the Russian duo of Ekaterina Alexandrova and Yana Sizikova in a highly anticipated first-round match. Olmos and Panova have partnered with each other since the Stuttgart Open earlier this year, with their best results including quarterfinal appearances in Paris, Rome, and Strasbourg.
Panova won one WTA title this season alongside Yana Sizikova at the Palermo Ladies Open. Olmos also claimed a title earlier in the year, winning the Hobart International with Chan Hao-ching.
Alexandrova and Sizikova, meanwhile, have partnered with each other this year but have found limited success, winning only one of their four matches together. Besides their Palermo title, Sizikova also won in Morocco with Irina Khromacheva. In contrast, Alexandrova primarily plies her trade in singles and has yet to advance past the quarterfinals in any event.
Olmos and Panova have struggled on hard courts, which could be a significant disadvantage against the hard-hitting duo of Alexandrova and Sizikova. An upset seems likely in this encounter with both teams heading into the occasion in similar form.
Pick: Alexandrova & Sizikova in three sets.
#2 Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Polina Kudermetova
Ekaterina Alexandrova entered Seoul with a 22-20 match record for the year, with her best result being a run to the final at the Linz Open. She also reached the semifinals in Monterrey and the third round at the US Open, where she won a set against eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka.
Seeded seventh in Korea this week, Alexandrova kicked off her campaign with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-0 victory over Varvara Lepchenko in the first round.
Polina Kudermetova, on the contrary, entered Seoul with a 37-26 record for the year, primarily featuring on the ITF and Challenger circuits. She's played just the one WTA main draw match so far at Rouen where she made it through the qualifiers.
Kudermetova made it through the qualifiers in Korea this week. She then registered her first WTA win of the season in the first round against Priscilla Hon, sealing a routine 7-5, 6-4 win.
Alexandrova and Kudermetova are yet to face off in professional competition so their head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.
Alexandrova's superior experience and better record on the WTA tour this year, coupled with her opponent's inexperience make her the overwhelming favorite to go through.
Pick: Alexandrova in straight sets.
#1 Liudmila Samsonova vs Veronika Kudermetova
Liudmila Samsonova entered Seoul with a 26-20 match record for the season, with her best result being a win at the Libema Open in July against Bianca Andreescu. She had a successful North American hardcourt swing, reaching the quarterfinals in Toronto and Cincinnati, and advancing to the fourth round in New York. Seeded second in Korea this week, Samsonova received a first-round bye.
Veronika Kudermetova, on the contrary, entered Seoul with a 13-20 record with her best result including a run to the quarterfinals in Charleston. She kicked off her campaign with a straight sets victory over Shuai Zhang in the opening round.
Kudermetova and Samsonova are familiar opponents, having faced each other six times on tour. Kudermetova leads their head-to-head 4-2 and won their most recent encounter in Berlin this year. In addition to their singles matches the pair have also played doubles together and won the Dubai Championships last year.
Samsonova will be favored to advance, given her recent strong form on hardcourts off late coupled with Kudermetova's declining performance in singles.
Pick: Samsonova in straight sets.