Tokyo 2023 Final: Jessica Pegula vs Veronika Kudermetova preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick | Toray Pan Pacific Open
Match Details
Fixture: (2) Jessica Pegula vs (8) Veronika Kudermetova.
Date: October 1, 2023.
Tournament: Toray Pan Pacific Open 2023.
Round: Final.
Venue: Tokyo, Japan.
Category: WTA 500.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $780,637.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Jessica Pegula vs Veronika Kudermetova preview
Second seed Jessica Pegula will lock horns with eighth seed Veronika Kudermetova in the final of the 2023 Toray Pan Pacific Open on Sunday (October 1).
The American received a bye to the second round of the WTA 500 event and started her campaign with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Cristina Bucsa. She then thrashed sixth seed Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-0 to set up a semifinal clash against Maria Sakkari.
Pegula started the match strongly and won the opening set 6-2 after breaking the Greek's serve twice. She broke Sakkari thrice during the second set compared to the latter's solitary break and took the second set 6-3 to book her place in the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Kudermetova started the WTA 500 tournament with a 6-3, 7-6(4) win over Harriet Dart and followed it up by beating Kayla Day 6-3, 6-3 to set up a quarterfinal clash against Iga Swiatek.
The Russian stunned the World No. 2, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to beat her for the very first time in their five encounters and booked her place in the semifinals. Here, she faced compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and took the lead in the match by claiming a tightly contested opening set 7-6 (6).
The second set saw Pavlyuchenkova make a comeback as she won it 7-6 (2) to force the match into a decider. Kudermetova took the final set 6-3 to win the match and book her place in the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Jessica Pegula vs Veronika Kudermetova head-to-head
Kudermetova leads 1-0 in the head-to-head between the two, having previously beaten Pegula 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open earlier this year.
Jessica Pegula vs Veronika Kudermetova odds
All odds are sourced from BETMGM.
Jessica Pegula vs Veronika Kudermetova prediction
Pegula's recent run of form makes her the favorite entering the final. However, Kudermetova also has produced some good tennis this week and managed to beat the American in their prior meeting in Madrid. So she should not be written off at all.
Pegula will be in good spirits after defeating Maria Sakkari and we can expect her to show a lot of composure during the match. The American's powerful groundstrokes, net game and on-court movement are all capable of making things difficult for Kudermetova.
Meanwhile, the Russian showed a lot of resilience during her semifinal against Pavlyuchenkova and apart from this win, she can always look to her quarterfinal victory over Iga Swiatek for some motivation ahead of the title bout.
Kudermetova has a strong serve and will be eager to make the most out of it. She will also have to be strong defensively in order to counter Pegula's intensity when needed.
Both players look in good touch at the moment and we could have a thriller on our hands. However, Pegula's efficiency might just about see her get the better of Kudermetova and win the 2023 Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Pick: Pegula to win in three sets.