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Match Details
Fixture: Karolina Muchova vs (27) Irina-Camelia Begu
Tournament: French Open 2023
Round: Third round (Round of 32)
Venue: Paris, France
Date: Friday, June 2
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor clay
Prize money: €49,600,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel, NBC Sports, Peacock TV | Canada - TSN | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Ten
Karolina Muchova vs Irina-Camelia Begu preview
Karolina Muchova will take on 27th seed Irina-Camelia Begu in the third round of the French Open 2023 on Friday.
Muchova entered the claycourt Major unseeded and was drawn against eighth seed Maria Sakkari in the opening round. She stunned the Greek 7-6(5), 7-5 to book her place in the second round of the French Open.
The 26-year-old next faced Nadia Podoroska and won the opening set 6-3. The Argentine then roared back into the match and took the second 6-0. The final set was tightly contested in the first few games before Muchova broke serve to lead 4-3. She secured another break in the final set to win it 6-3 and book her place in the third round of the French Open for the third successive year.
Irina-Camelia Begu, meanwhile, entered the claycourt Grand Slam seeded 27th and started with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Anna Bondar in the first round. This set up a second-round clash against 2012 runner-up Sara Errani.
Begu took a 3-0 lead in the opening set but the Italian bounced back to level the scores at 3-3. The Romanian then took the next three games to pocket the opening set 6-3.
Begu was dominant throughout the second set and won 26 out of 38 points to clinch it 6-0 and reach the third round of the French Open.
Karolina Muchova vs Irina-Camelia Begu head-to-head
Begu leads 2-0 in the head-to-head against Muchova. The last meeting between the two came in the second round of this year's Madrid Open, with the Romanian winning 6-4, 7-5.
Karolina Muchova vs Irina-Camelia Begu odds
All odds are sourced from Oddschecker.
Karolina Muchova vs Irina-Camelia Begu prediction
The bookmakers might have Muchova as the favorite but Begu has won both of her prior meetings against the Czech, all on clay. That said, the 26-year-old has been playing some very good tennis and is more than capable of giving the Romanian a run for her money.
Muchova plays aggressively but is also capable of counterpunching well. She is a powerful hitter and can always mix up her groundstrokes with astute slices and drop shots.
The Czech has won 55 out of 87 points (63.2%) on her first serve so far in the French Open while winning 29 out 50 (58%) on her second. She has hit 57 unforced errors in her last two matches and cannot afford to have too many of those against Begu.
The Romanian has been very strong on her first serve so far during the French Open, winning 48 out of 65 points (73.9%). However, her second serve has been a little wobbly as she has won only 14 out of 38 points (36.8%) on it while coughing up 11 double faults. She has also hit 46 unforced errors.
Begu's stamina and court coverage will come in handy while dealing with Muchova's intensity and she will look to make the most out of her consistent groundstrokes. Eventually, it might come down to which player remains more composed on court.
Begu won both of her past meetings against Muchova but the latter has produced some promising performances lately. The Romanian's second-serve frailties might further tilt the balance in her favor.
The match promises to be an interesting one and the Czech might just about manage to come out on top and reach the fourth round of the French Open.
Pick: Muchova to win in three sets.
