US Open 2020: Daria Kasatkina vs Marta Kostyuk preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: Daria Kasatkina vs Marta Kostyuk

Date: 31 August 2020

Tournament: US Open 2020

Round: First round (Round of 128)

Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York, USA

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Outdoor hardcourt

Prize money: $39,024,000

Match timing: Not before 3 pm EDT, 12:30 am IST

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel / ESPN | India - Star Sports / Hotstar

Daria Kasatkina vs Marta Kostyuk preview

Marta Kostyuk already has the goods to deliver at 18-years of age

Former World No. 10 Daria Kasatkina will take on Maria Kostyuk in the first round of her US Open 2020 campaign, in what might prove to be a close match.

Kasatkina had just started to get back to winning matches at the top in early March, and she defeated Camila Giorgi en route a semifinal finish at Lyon. However, the Russian couldn't build on that success as the entire WTA tour was called off soon after due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the lockdown, the World No. 66 has lost three of her four matches - in Palermo and Cincinnati qualifying. But despite having a mediocre 10-10 record for the current season, Kasatkina will be coming into her opener as the favorite.

Maria Kostyuk is ranked much lower than Kasatkina, and will be coming into the second Grand Slam of the year with much more match practice. The Ukrainian prodigy, who is ranked No. 137 in the world, won the W60 Cairo ITF Challenger in February and has played a lot of matches this year.

In her Grand Slam debut at the 2018 Australian Open, Kostyuk then aged just 15, became the youngest player to win a main-draw match in Melbourne since Martina Hingis in 1996.

Daria Kasatkina vs Marta Kostyuk head-to-head

Marta Kostyuk

The first round match in New York will be the first-ever career meeting between Daria Kasatkina and Marta Kostyuk, so the head-to-head between the two currently stands at 0-0.

Daria Kasatkina vs Marta Kostyuk prediction

Daria Kasatkina will try to get her season back on track at 2020 USO

After reaching the 2018 Indian Wells Masters final, Daria Kasatkina went through a significant rankings drop. The going hasn't been easy for the Russian, as she followed up a lackluster sophomore season with an even worse (so far) 2020; Kasatkina has been forced to play qualifying events at several top WTA events lately.

That said, the talented tactician will have likely have too much experience for the young Marta Kostyuk, who has not had a full season on the tour yet. Kasatkina will look to use her intelligent defense and variety of spins to upset the hard-hitting Ukrainian's rhythm, which might yield favorable results.

Prediction: Daria Kasatkina to win in straight sets.