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Match details
Fixture: (8) Paula Badosa vs Marta Kostyuk
Date: 21 January 2022.
Tournament: Australian Open 2022.
Round: Third round (Round of 32).
Venue: Melbourne, Australia.
Category: Grand Slam.
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt.
Match timing: Approx. 1 p.m. local time, 2 a.m. GMT, 7.30 a.m. IST
Prize money: $75,000,000.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Six, Sony Liv.
Paula Badosa vs Marta Kostyuk preview
Paula Badosa will take on Marta Kostyuk in the third round of the 2022 Australian Open on Friday.
Badosa has been in sublime form in the event so far, having dropped just seven games in her first two matches. After beating Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4, 6-0 in the first round, Badosa completed a 6-0, 6-3 win over Martina Trevisan in the second round.
On Wednesday, the 24-year-old, who climbed to a career-high ranking of No. 6, made Trevisan look hapless at best throughout the fixture. Badosa conceded a mere eight points on her serve and broke her opponent five times throughout the match.
Although she managed just 12 winners, her tally was four greater than Trevisan's. While Badosa coughed up 15 unforced errors, Trevisan leaked 29.
Badosa, whose career has been on an upward trajectory in recent months, is into the third round of the Australian Open for the first time in her career. She is on a seven-match winning streak which bodes well for her chances at the Melbourne Slam.
Marta Kostyuk is also riding high on confidence after matching her best-ever result at the Australian Open; she had also made the third round in 2018. In her second-round match on Wednesday, the teenager ousted 32nd seed Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-6(5), 6-3.
The first set was evenly contested, as the scoreline suggests, and Sorribes Tormo could have perhaps walked away with the match, given she ended with a 100% (4/4) break point conversion rate.
Kostyuk even coughed up twice as many unforced errors as Sorribes Tormo (42 to 20) but got away with it as she struck 33 winners compared to the Spaniard's nine.
Paula Badosa vs Marta Kostyuk head-to-head
Paula Badosa leads Marta Kostyuk 1-0 in the head-to-head. The two locked horns in the qualifying rounds of the Australian Open in 2019, with the Spaniard prevailing 7-6(6), 6-3.
Paula Badosa vs Marta Kostyuk prediction
Given her sublime form, Paula Badosa enters this match as the firm favorite. She has been striking the ball clean as a whistle in recent matches while maintaining her aggressive gameplay.
The Spaniard has improved leaps and bounds since she last faced Kostyuk, who has also developed, but not as much.
Badosa's game is also less error-prone than the Ukrainian's, which could prove to be a differentiating factor on Friday. Kostyuk might outhit Badosa, but the latter's consistency from the baseline is likely to draw numerous errors from the teenager's racket.
Prediction: Paula Badosa to win in straight sets.
Also check out: Updated ATP Men's Tennis Rankings
