Canadian Open 2023: Jessica Pegula vs Yulia Putintseva preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick

Match details

Fixture: (4) Jessica Pegula vs Yulia Putintseva

Tournament: Canadian Open 2023

Round: Second round (Round of 32)

Date: August 9, Wednesday

Venue: Montreal, Canada

Category: WTA 1000

Surface: Hard

Prize money: $2,788,468

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - Sportsnet, TVA Sports | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Sony Liv

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Jessica Pegula vs Yulia Putintseva preview

American No. 1 Jessica Pegula will take on the feisty Kazakh Yulia Punintsevea in a second-round encounter at the 2023 Canadian Open.

Pegula, who is the fourth seed at this year's tournament, is fresh off a semifinal run at the Citi Open. While she was beaten by Maria Sakkari in Washington, Pegula defeated the likes of fast-rising Peyton Stearns and a resurgent Elina Svitolina, and improve her season's win-loss to 37-13 in the process.

The World No. 3 will look to build on her run in Washington but will need to be wary of her tricky first opponent.

Putintseva entered the main draw as a lucky loser.

Putintseva, on the other hand, has played a lot of tennis in the last month and has a tour semifinal at the Swedish Open to show for.

While she lost in the final round of qualifying to Kimberly Birell in Montreal, the Kazakh was given entry into the main draw as a lucky loser. Making the most of the opportunity, she posted her 20th match win for the season against Bernada Pera in the opening round.

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Jessica Pegula vs Yulia Putintseva head-to-head

Pegula leads Putintseva in their head-to-head by a 1-0 margin. The American came through a two-set win in their only meeting, which came at the same tournament when it was played in Toronto last year.

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Jessica Pegula vs Yulia Putintseva odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Sets
Jessica Pegula	-900	-1.5 (-250)	Over 18.5 (-140)
Yulia Puntintseva	+525	+1.5 (+175)	Under 18.5 (+100)

All odds are sourced from BETMGM.

Jessica Pegula vs Yulia Putintseva prediction

Pegula will be the favorite to win on paper.

The second-round contest will pit Pegula's fast, flat groundstrokes against Putintseva's topspin-heavy shots and defensive prowess.

The American has been playing solid tennis in recent months and in Washington, came fairly close to reaching her first final since February. She will be keen to move past the disappointment of having lost that semifinal to Sakkari and will step out looking to take control of the baseline.

Given that Putinseva's consistent hitting is better suited for the slower clay courts, she may find herself chasing for the ball far too often against Pegula.

Unless she can protect her serve — the attackable second delivery in particular — and play aggressively herself, Putintseva risks fading away under pressure.

Prediction: Pegula to win in two tight sets