Daria Kasatkina vs Varvara Gracheva Prediction & Betting Tips - Cincinnati, USA

Prediction published on 16/08/2023, 02:54  by Nella Wagah | Modified on 16/08/2023 at 03:00 in Tennis Predictions

Fourteenth seed Daria Kasatkina and lucky loser Varvara Gracheva will once again square off in 2023 with their Cincinnati Open showdown on Wednesday. The winner of this second-round tie will play either second seed Aryna Sabalenka or the qualifier Ann Li in the third round. Daria Kasatkina was dominant in her first-round win over the wildcard Peyton Stearns, losing just three games in the straight sets win. This was her fourth win in her last five matches. The Russian has been in good form since the start of the grass-court campaign. She has won 13 of the 19 matches she has played in this period with five of those victories coming on hard court. This has allowed her to tie her record on the surface at 10-10. Kasatkina has played two tour finals thus far and has compiled a 28-19 record. She struggled with her form at the start of the year and lost both encounters with Gracheva and now trails this series 2-1. The 26-year-old is currently ranked 13th in the WTA world ranking.

Varvara Gracheva is struggling with her form at the moment. She has won just two of her last six matches and was even defeated in qualifying in this tournament. But having won against Kasatkina twice already this season, she will be confident of progressing to the next round. The Frenchwoman won this fixture at the Australian Open and at Indian Wells and now has the head-to-head advantage. Gracheva is playing in the main draw at this WTA 1000 tournament for the first time. She grabbed the second chance awarded to her with both hands and won her first-round tie. This was against wildcard Caroline Wozniacki and won in straight sets by the loss of eight games. The win moved her up four places to 41st in the live ranking. Gracheva has compiled a 33-23 record with 21 of her victories coming on hard court. Her form on the surface granted her her first tour final which was achieved in Austin back in March.