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Match Details
Fixture: (9) Daria Kasatkina vs (Q) Taylor Townsend
Date: August 15, 2024
Tournament: Cincinnati Open 2024
Round: Second Round (Round of 32)
Venue: Lindner Family Tennis Center, Mason, Ohio, US
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $3,211,715
Live Telecast: US - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN+
Daria Kasatkina vs Taylor Townsend preview
Ninth seed Daria Kasatkina will lock horns with qualifier Taylor Townsend in the second round of the Cincinnati Open 2024.
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Kasatkina took on her compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round. The former broke the latter's serve right off the bat in the opening set, and neither player came close to another break point until the final game of the set.
Kasatkina faced a break point when she served for the set at 5-4, and fended it off to close out the set. She let go of an early lead in the second set as Alexandrova broke back to make it 2-2. However, she then nabbed the next four games to win the match 6-4, 6-2.
Townsend came through the qualifying rounds without losing a set and was up against fellow American Caroline Dolehide in the first round. The 28-year-old qualifier fell behind 4-1 in the first set, and couldn't make up the deficit which cost her the set.
The two were on even footing in the second set until Dolehide blinked towards the end. Townsend broke her serve in the 10th game of the set to take it. The latter raced to a 5-2 lead in the decider but couldn't serve out the match, and fumbled three match points.
Dolehide managed to force a tie-break and was the first to reach a match point in it but wasted both of her chances. Townsend got to another match point after that and got the job done this time for a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7) comeback win.
Daria Kasatkina vs Taylor Townsend head-to-head
Kasatkina leads Townsend 1-0 in main draw matches at the WTA level. She won their previous encounter at the Silicon Valley Classic 2022 in straight sets.
Daria Kasatkina vs Taylor Townsend odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Daria Kasatkina vs Taylor Townsend prediction
Kasatkina played some smart tennis to get the better of Alexandrova in her opener and snapped her three-match losing skid with the win. Townsend was on the cusp of victory but instead rallied from the brink of defeat to sneak past Dolehide.
The summer hardcourt swing has been quite fruitful for Townsend so far. She won the doubles title at the Citi Open and reached her first tour-level quarterfinal in singles at the Canadian Open after that. Kasatkina, meanwhile, bowed out of those two tournaments without a win.
Townsend could only manage to win four games when she faced Kasatkina a couple of years ago in San Jose. However, she seems to be in good form at the moment, while Kasatkina's level these days is quite uneven. The American has the potential to pull off an upset here.
Pick: Taylor Townsend to win in three sets.
