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Match Details
Fixture: (8) Maria Sakkari vs Karolina Muchova
Tournament: French Open 2023
Round: First round (Round of 128)
Venue: Paris, France
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
Maria Sakkari vs Karolina Muchova preview
World No. 8 Maria Sakkari will take on Karolina Muchova in the first round of the 2023 French Open.
Sakkari's clay campaign began with a straight-sets defeat to Karolina Pliskova in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. She rebounded by making it to the semifinals of her next tournament, the Madrid Open. The Greek ended up losing to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka.
Sakkari knocked out Barbora Strycova to reach the third round of the Italian Open. She then faced 2019 French Open runner-up Marketa Vondrousova to whom she lost in straight sets. The 27-year-old was scheduled to compete in the Morocco Open after that, where she has won her only career title so far.
Sakkari ended up withdrawing from the event. A former semifinalist at the French Open, she'll be aiming to make another deep run at the venue. She lost in the second round here last year.
Muchova, meanwhile, defeated former World No. 2 Anett Kontaveit in the first round of the Madrid Open. She then lost to Irina-Camelia Begu in the next round. The Czech performed better at the Italian Open, where she made it to the fourth round.
Muchova scored wins over Kamilla Rakhimova, Martina Trevisan and Camila Giorgi before losing to Paula Badosa. Her best result at the French Open has been a third-round appearance.
Maria Sakkari vs Karolina Muchova head-to-head
The two have faced off twice on the WTA tour so far, with Muchova winning both of those encounters to lead 2-0 in the head-to-head. She won their most recent match at the 2022 French Open in two close sets.
Maria Sakkari vs Karolina Muchova odds
(Odds sourced from BetMGM)
Maria Sakkari vs Karolina Muchova prediction
Sakkari couldn't have asked for a tougher opponent to begin her French Open campaign. Muchova was one of the most dangerous unseeded players in the draw and the Greek has to go toe-to-toe with her.
Muchova has enough firepower in her groundstrokes to dominate from the baseline. However, she's also able to break the rhythm of the rallies by mixing up her shots from time to time. She's got a great drop shot and can volley quite well too.
Sakkari's forehand on clay works spectacularly when she's in the zone. It's what carried her to the semifinals in Paris a couple of years ago. The Greek is a great athlete and uses that to her advantage as well.
Muchova knocked out Sakkari from the French Open last year. The match was decided via two tie-breaks, with the Czech coming out on top. The contest could've gone the other way given how fine the margins were. This could be another photo finish, but it feels like the Greek could reign supreme this time around.
Pick: Maria Sakkari to win in three sets.
