Iga Swiatek vs Marta Kostyuk – Breakdown and Prediction

August 16, 2024

Iga Swiatek vs Marta Kostyuk: WTA Cincinnati – round of 16

The world No. 1 Iga Swiatek will face off Marta Kostyuk in the round of 16 at the WTA Cincinnati.

Iga Swiatek Profile

Iga Swiatek is the top-ranked player on the WTA list. The Polish is 53-6 for the season and 23-3 on hard surface.

Swiatek is coming off a 6-0, 6-7, 6-0 win over Varvara Gracheva in the second round of the tournament. That was her first match after winning the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics beating Karolina Schmiedlova in the match for the third place.

Swiatek has won five titles so far this season, the French Open, and the tournaments in Rome, Madrid, Indian Wells and Doha.

This is her fifth appearance in Cincinnati and her best result was the semifinal last year where she lost to Coco Gauff.

Marta Kostyuk Profile

Marta Kostyuk is 21st in the WTA rankings, five spots lower than her career high. The Ukrainian is 29-15 for the season and 19-7 on hard surface.

Kostyuk is coming off a 6-3, 7-5 win against Lulu Sun in the second round after previously defeated Elise Mertens 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

Kostyuk lost two finals this season, in San Diego to Katie Boulter and in Stuttgart to Elena Rybakina.

This is her third appearance in Cincinnati and has made it to the round of 16 for the first time.

Head-to-Head Swiatek leads 2-0

Swiatek vs Kostyuk 6-1, 6-2 (2024 WTA Indian Wells, semifinal)
Swiatek vs Kostyuk 6-3, 6-4 (2021 French Open, round of 16)

Prediction and Conclusion

Iga Swiatek is the best player in the world, but winning only one of the three Grand Slams so far in the season and missing out on the gold at the Paris Olympics is not something that she expected. Marta Kostyuk has lacked consistency and even confidence at certain points of the season, and she will definitely need to play her best tennis to stand a chance in this match. That would be difficult against world No. 1, and Swiatek is expected to win this match by covering the 4.5-game spread.