Jessica Pegula will take on Yanina Wickmayer at the 2023 Korea Open, hoping to secure a final two weeks after playing the final of the Japan Open.
Jessica Pegula has had an interesting time in Asia, making her way to the Japan Open final but surprisingly losing to Veronika Kudermetova in the final of the WTA 500 tournament in Tokyo.
She didn't play that well at the China Open, which is why she opted to play at the Korea Open, which will be her final event before the WTA Finals later this month.
She returned to form there, making her way to the semi-final, where veteran Yanina Wickmayer awaits. Wickmayer has had an incredible return campaign to tennis, and this run only confirms that. Whether she can keep it going, though, remains a huge question.
Head-to-head:
The two never played before, which makes sense as Wickmayer mostly played before Pegula hit her peak, and when the American peaked in recent years, Wickmayer was away from tennis.
There are a lot of stylistic intricacies, though, as both like to play aggressive tennis, but Pegula is likely the better pure clear hitter.
Prediction:
The conditions in Seoul mainly make every match that is being played there a hitting contest. Modern tennis is mostly like that anyway, so it's not something that will surprise either player but it places a great emphasis on being consistent with it.
Both players are really good hitters and are capable of amazing things from the baseline but both are quite streaky. Pegula is a bit more stable which is why she's one of the best players in the world but she has her bad moments as well.
It's going to be close but backing anything but Pegula in this spot makes very little sense. She's been really good.
Prediction: Jessica Pegula to win in two sets.
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