Citi Open 2023: Daria Kasatkina vs Elina Svitolina preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick

Match Details

Fixture: (5) Daria Kasatkina vs (WC) Elina Svitolina

Date: August 2, 2023

Tournament: Citi Open 2023

Round: Second round (Round of 16)

Venue: Washington D.C., United States

Category: WTA 500

Surface: Hard

Prize money: $780,637

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video | Canada - TSN

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Daria Kasatkina vs Elina Svitolina preview

Daria Kasatkina at the 2023 Wimbledon.

World No. 11 Daria Kasatkina will face off against Elina Svitolina in the second round of the 2023 Citi Open on Wednesday.

Kasatkina was up against Elise Mertens in the first round. The latter led 2-0 in the opening set, but the former fought back to make it 2-2. The Russian then swept the last four games of the set to take it.

Following three consecutive breaks of serve early on in the second set, Kasatkina came out on top to go 3-1 up. The pair traded service breaks once again, with the Russian gaining the upper hand to lead 5-3.

Kasatkina then served for the contest and even held four match points, but Mertens dug deep to secure a break of serve. With her opponent serving to stay in the match at 6-5, the Russian broke her serve to wrap up a 6-3, 7-5 win.

Svitolina was drawn against former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in her opener. The first set featured plenty of momentum shifts. The Ukrainian led 3-0, but she lost the next five games to fall behind 5-3. She then bagged the next three games and managed to clinch the set in the ensuing tie-break.

The second set started with four straight breaks of serve, with Svitolina breaking the pattern with a service hold to make it 3-2. Neither player managed to hold serve after that. There were five consecutive service breaks, with the Ukrainian getting the better of Azarenka to win the match 7-6 (2), 6-4.

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Daria Kasatkina vs Elina Svitolina head-to-head

Svitolina leads Kasatkina 7-0 in the head-to-head. She won their previous encounter at the 2023 French Open in straight sets.

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Daria Kasatkina vs Elina Svitolina odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games
Daria Kasatkina	-120	-1.5 (+175)	Over 21.5 (-120)
Elina Svitolina	-105	+1.5 (-250)	Under 21.5 (-120)

(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)

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Daria Kasatkina vs Elina Svitolina prediction

Elina Svitolina at the 2023 French Open.

Both had their fair share of struggles in the previous round. Kasatkina initially wasted four match points but eventually got the job done against Mertens. Had she somehow lost to the Belgian, it would've been her fourth defeat this season after having match points.

Svitolina's topsy-turvy encounter against Azarenka saw her drop serve eight times. However, the Ukrainian fought back on each occasion to defeat the two-time Major champion for the second time in the last four weeks.

While Svitolina also made plenty of unforced errors, she'll be feeling quite confident about her chances against Kasatkina. With a perfect 7-0 record against the Russian, the 28-year-old has always managed to subdue her younger opponent.

Kasatkina has won just a couple of sets across their seven matches so far. Svitolina's comeback has been going rather well, and based on her form and head-to-head, she's likely to extend her winning record against the Russian.

Pick: Elina Svitolina to win in straight sets.