Tokyo 2023: Jessica Pegula vs Daria Kasatkina preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick | Toray Pan Pacific Open
Match Details
Fixture: (2) Jessica Pegula vs Daria Kasatkina
Date: September 29, 2023
Tournament: Toray Pan Pacific Open 2023
Round: Quarterfinals
Venue: Tokyo, Japan
Category: WTA 500
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $780,637
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Jessica Pegula vs Daria Kasatkina preview
Second seed Jessica Pegula will face sixth seed Daria Kasatkina in the quarterfinals of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
The American received a bye to the second round of the WTA 500 tournament by virtue of being one of the top seeds. She faced Spain's Cristina Bucsa in the second round.
Pegula broke twice and raced to a 4-0 lead in the first set before claiming it 6-1. She maintained her dominance in the second set and broke serve twice to lead 4-1. There were no further breaks of serve and the American won the set 6-2 to book her place in the quarterfinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Kasatkina, meanwhile, entered the WTA 500 competition as the sixth seed and faced Marta Kostyuk in the first round. The Russian came back from a set down to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and book her place in the second round.
Here, she faced Greek qualifier Despina Papamichail and won the opening set 6-4 after saving three break points in the final game. Kasatkina then raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set, but her opponent showed some resistance, and this led to her making a number of breaks.
While Papamichail put up a fight, the Russian eventually went on to win the second set 6-4 to claim the match and seal her spot in the last eight.
Jessica Pegula vs Daria Kasatkina head-to-head
Pegula leads 1-0 in the head-to-head beween the two, having beaten Kasatkina 7-5, 6-3 in the first round of the Italian Open in 2021.
Jessica Pegula vs Daria Kasatkina odds
All odds are sourced from BETMGM.
Jessica Pegula vs Daria Kasatkina prediction
Pegula will enter the match as the heavy favorite to win but Kasatkina should not be written off as she is capable of giving the American a run for her money.
The former won 18 out of 21 points on her first serve in her last match with two aces to her name. She will look to attack from the start and put the pressure on Kasatkina. However, Pegula will have to be careful not to hit too many unforced errors.
Kasatkina is a fine defensive player who has impressive counterpunching skills and can force her opponents to produce unforced errors. The Russian is also capable of switching gears.
A perfect balance of aggression and defense could see her get the win over Pegula. However, the latter looks like the superior player out of the two and should be able to come out on top to reach the semifinals in Tokyo.
Pick: Pegula to win in three sets.