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Fixture: (7) Coco Gauff vs Karolina Muchova
Date: August 20, 2023
Tournament: Western & Southern Open 2023
Round: Final
Venue: Cincinnati, USA
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $2,788,468
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Sony Liv
Coco Gauff vs Karolina Muchova preview
Seventh seed Coco Gauff will take on unseeded Karolina Muchova for the 2023 Cincinnati Open title on Sunday, August 20.
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On Saturday, World No. 7 Gauff upset top seed Iga Swiatek in three sets, her first win against the top-ranked player in eight attempts. Suffice to say, the win didn't come easily.
Swiatek characteristically made a brisk start but would rue failing to serve out the set at 5-3 as Gauff took the opener in a tiebreak, saving two set points along the way. The Pole reined down her errors in the second set, conceding three games to restore parity.
In a keenly fought decider, a lone break of serve sufficed as Gauff converted her third match point, closing out victory in ten minutes shy of three hours to reach her first WTA 1000 final. Earlier this week, the 19-year-old - who is now 37-13 on the season - saw off Jasmine Paolini, Linda Noskova and Mayar Sheriff.
Meanwhile, the 17th-ranked Muchova prevailed over second seed Aryna Sabalenka in a rematch of the pair's Roland Garros semfinal, which the former won.
Another tough battle ensued, as Sabalenka grabbed the first set in a tiebreak to draw first blood. Muchova, though, responded in kind, conceding only five more games to set up a final date with Gauff.
The 2-hour 37-minute win means Muchova will also break into the top 10 next week. She had seen off fifth seed Ons Jabeur, eighth seed Maria Sakkari, Petra Martic and 12th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia en route to the finals. Muchova is now 33-11 in 2023.
Coco Gauff vs Karolina Muchova head-to-head
The pair hasn't locked horns before, so their head-to-head record reads 0-0.
Coco Gauff vs Karolina Muchova odds
The odds will be updated when they release.
Coco Gauff vs Karolina Muchova prediction
Both players like to dominate opponents from the baseline and have potent hardcourt games.
Gauff, though, is the harder hitter of the two, but her serve and forehand can be a liability. That wasn't the case against Swiatek, though, as the American saved 10 of 14 break points and hit 18 winners. She did leak 37 unforced errors, however. Muchova, meanwhile, dished out an impressive performance against Sabalenka after dropping the opener.
Gauff will be the fresher of the two players - dropping one set in four matches - while Muchova has conceded four sets in five matches. Expect the American to take a hard-fought win in her first Cincinnati final.
Pick: Gauff in three sets.
