Roland Garros 2021: Iga Swiatek vs Marta Kostyuk preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: (8) Iga Swiatek vs Marta Kostyuk
Date: 7 June 2021
Tournament: Roland Garros 2021
Round: Fourth round (Round of 16)
Venue: Paris, France
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Red clay
Prize money: €17,171,108
Live telecast: USA - NBC Sports / Tennis Channel | UK - ITV | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP
Iga Swiatek vs Marta Kostyuk preview
Iga Swiatek fended off a spirited effort from Anett Kontaveit on Saturday to book her spot in the second week of Roland Garros 2021.
Swiatek fell behind early and seemed to be struggling in the face of some big hits from the Estonian, but she grew into the match as it wore on. And after securing the first set in a tiebreaker, the defending champion raced to the finish line without dropping another game.
Swiatek has now set up a fourth-round meeting with the talented Marta Kostyuk, who eased past Varvara Gracheva in her last match.
Kostyuk made her Grand Slam debut at the 2018 Australian Open, and has already made a name for herself in her short career so far. The Ukrainian has reached the third round of a Major on two prior occasions, and even came close to beating Naomi Osaka at last year's US Open.
Kostyuk has secured dominant wins in her early rounds this week, including a 6-1, 6-4 upset over former champion Garbine Muguruza. The 18-year-old will look to carry the momentum further and give Swiatek something to think about on Monday.
Iga Swiatek vs Marta Kostyuk head-to-head
This is set to be the first career meeting between Iga Swiatek and Marta Kostyuk, so their current head-to-head stands at a 0-0 deadlock.
Iga Swiatek vs Marta Kostyuk prediction
Iga Swiatek has looked solid in her first few matches this week and will enter the contest as a firm favorite. But the Pole will need to be wary of Marta Kostyuk, given the sort of results that she has posted all week.
Kostyuk can more than match up to Swiatek when it comes to generating power off the ground. The one area where the Ukrainian lacks is consistency; her gung-ho style of tennis often produces a lot of cheap points for her opponents.
To add to that, Swiatek has managed to find answers to pretty much everything that her opponents have thrown at her this week. And her win over Kontaveit, where she came back from an early deficit, would have filled her with a lot of confidence.
If Kostyuk can manage to push Swiatek behind the baseline frequently enough, she could possibly cause the defending champion some trouble. But if Swiatek continues to stay as composed on the court as she has all week, she should not have too much trouble coming through in the end.
Prediction: Iga Swiatek to win in straight sets.
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