Match Details
Fixture: (1) Iga Swiatek vs (31) Marta Kostyuk
Date: March 15, 2024
Tournament: BNP Paribas Open
Round: Semifinal
Venue: Indian Wells Tennis Garden, California, US
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize Money: $8,995,555
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel/TC Plus | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN/TVA
Iga Swiakek vs Marta Kostyuk preview
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will lock horns with Marta Kostyuk in the semifinals of the 2024 BNP Paribas Open on Friday.
Swiatek scored easy wins over Danielle Collins, Linda Noskova, and Yulia Putintseva to reach the quarterfinals. She next faced 2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki for a place in the semifinals.
Swiatek initially was on the backfoot in the first set as she went down a break to trail 4-1. However, she staged a quick turnaround as she reeled off five games in a row to take the set. She broke Wozniacki's serve to start the second set but the Dane retired due to an injury after that and thus sent the top seed into the last four.
Kostyuk defeated Mai Hontama in straight sets and then received a walkover from Marketa Vondrousova to move into the fourth round. She then bested Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to set up a quarterfinal showdown against Anastasia Potapova.
Kostyuk was off to a flying start as she captured the first set without the loss of a single game. She led by a break thrice in the second set but Potapova fought to get back on serve on each occasion. The Ukrainian then broke her opponent's serve in the final game of the match to secure a 6-0, 7-5 win.
Iga Swiatek vs Marta Kostyuk head-to-head
Swiatek leads Kostyuk 1-0 in the head-to-head. She won their previous encounter at the 2021 French Open in straight sets.
Iga Swiatek vs Marta Kostyuk odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Iga Swiatek vs Marta Kostyuk prediction
It took a while for Swiatek to get going against Wozniacki in the previous round. However, there was no stopping her once she did, though she was aided by her opponent's injury.
While Swiatek is used to being at this stage of a tournament, this is the first time Kostyuk has made the semifinals of a WTA 1000 event in singles. Both have played quite well this week and haven't dropped a set thus far.
Kostyuk is in the middle of a career-best season. She previously reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open as well. She has the game to put Swiatek on the backfoot with her aggressive shotmaking. The Pole does struggle at times when her opponents rush her as she doesn't get enough time to set up her shots.
But Kostyuk will need to be at her very best from start to finish as anything less than that simply isn't enough to defeat Swiatek. The Pole is on a roll this week so even if she encounters some resistance, she should be able to subdue her opponent to reach her second final here.
Pick: Iga Swiatek to win in straight sets.