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Match Details
Fixture: (8) Maria Sakkari vs Marta Kostyuk
Tournament: Wimbledon 2023
Round: First round (Round of 128)
Venue: London, United Kingdom
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Grass
Prize money: £44,700,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | Canada - TSN & RDS | UK - BBC & Eurosport | India - Star Sports
Maria Sakkari vs Marta Kostyuk preview
Eighth seed Maria Sakkari will open her Wimbledon 2023 campaign in a tricky first-round showdown with World No. 35 Marta Kostyuk.
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Sakkari is coming into the grasscourt Major with a 24-13 win-loss record for the year. In what has been an inconsistent season for the Greek, she has made five semifinals, with the latest one coming in her most recent event in Berlin.
The three wins on grass in the German capital came after an early exit in her first grasscourt tournament of the year at Nottingham, which should boost her confidence ahead of Wimbledon.
Marta Kostyuk, a 21-year-old rising star from Ukraine, meanwhile, has won fewer matches than Sakkari this year but has lifted trophies in both singles and doubles.
Kostyuk's singles glory came at the WTA 250 event in Austin, Texas, in March. The youngster also made a couple of quarterfinals earlier in the year at Adelaide and Hua Hin. She is, however, on a three-match losing streak in singles heading to SW19.
While Kostyuk was ousted in the first round on the grass of Birmingham in singles, her doubles run in the WTA 250 tournament turned out to be a memorable one. Partnering veteran Czech Barbora Krejcikova, the 28th-ranked doubles ace went on to win the trophy.
Kostyuk will now hope to translate that success into singles as she launches her campaign at Wimbledon.
Maria Sakkari vs Marta Kostyuk head-to-head
Sakkari has a perfect 2-0 record against Kostyuk in their head-to-head, having won both their encounters in straight sets. While their first meeting was at the US Open in 2021, their most recent showdown was in Guadalajara a year later.
Maria Sakkari vs Marta Kostyuk odds
All odds are sourced from BETMGM.
Maria Sakkari vs Marta Kostyuk prediction
Maria Sakkari and Marta Kostyuk have come into Wimbledon in contrasting form in singles.
Sakkari played excellent first-strike tennis in her last two grasscourt wins against Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Marketa Vondrousova, winning 78% and 74% of her first-serve points, respectively.
The World No. 8 has to keep up the intensity against Kostyuk from the start and not let the Ukrainian get comfortable. Armed with an aggressive game and solid backhand, the rising star doesn't hold back, which can also prove to be her downfall at times. Although she has shown a lot of promise, Kostyuk continues to blow hot and cold.
Moreover, the Ukrainian is relatively inexperienced on grass, having won only five of 11 matches. If she crumbles, Sakkari could blaze her way to a win.
Pick: Maria Sakkari to win in straight sets
