Caroline Garcia (WTA -Twitter)
3rd seed Caroline Garcia locks horns with world No. 123 Karolina Muchova in the round of 16 of the 2023 Qatar Open on Wednesday.
The Frenchwoman had a fantastic latter half of the season in 2022. She has not taken 2023 by storm as yet but has made a sedate start.
After a decent campaign in the United Cup, Garcia played in the Adelaide International 2 where she was ousted in the quarterfinals by eventual champion Belinda Bencic. At the Australian Open, Garcia equaled her best result as she reached the fourth round. Her run ended with a defeat against Magda Linette. Prior to the Qatar Open, Garcia reached the finals of the Lyon Open. She lost to the talented Alycia Parks who won her first WTA title. The 29-year-old Garcia received a bye into the second round of the Qatar Open.
After Anett Kontaveit pulled out prior to the tournament, Karolina Muchova took up that spot. She managed to defeat Martina Trevisan quite convincingly in the round of 32 in straight sets 6-2, 6-2. Muchova smashed 6 aces in the match and had a win percentage of 76 on the first serve.
Before coming to Qatar, Muchova played just two tournaments in 2023. In the ASB Classic, she reached the quarterfinals where she lost to Rebeka Masarova. In the Australian Open, the 26-year-old crashed out in the second round following a loss to 13th seed Danielle Collins.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0 as Caroline Garcia and Karolina Muchova have never faced each other as yet.
Prediction: Caroline Garcia to win in straight sets.
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