Some of the first round action at the 2023 Poland Open will see Camila Giorgi take on Tatjana Maria and Yanina Wickmayer play Nao Hibino. Get the latest predictions along with the odds, preview and head to head for these matches along with Viktoria Hruncakova v Kristina Kucova and Laura Siegemund v Maja Chwalinska.
Camila Giorgi v Tatjana Maria Preview
Head-to-Head: It’s 1-1 from their previous meetings, Giorgi won at the French Open in 2015 and Maria won in Miami in 2019
Sixth seed Camila Giorgi brings an 18-14 season record into the tournament. Giorgi, who has won four titles from 10 finals in her career, won her only title of the season in Merida by beating Rebecca Peterson in the final. The Italian will be playing in the Poland Open for the first time. She has a good record on hard courts and is 9-5 on the surface this year. She has played nine of her finals on hard courts and is 3-6 has a 3-6 record in the finals on the surface.
Facing the world no. 50 Giorgi will be world no. 67 Tatjana Maria, who has had a decent run in 2023. She won her third WTA title this season in Bogota on clay. She also reached a WTA 125 final on grass in Gaiba and won an ITF title on hard court in Pune. Overall, she is 34-23 across levels and 11-9 on hard courts this year. Her best tour level performance on hard court this year was a quarterfinal finish in Hua Hin. It will be interesting to see if the German can give the sixth seed a tough time.
Camila Giorgi v Tatjana Maria Tip
Giorgi’s been the better player on hard courts and she is expected to win: 3/8
Yanina Wickmayer v Nao Hibino Preview
Head-to-Head: It’s 1-1 from their previous meetings. Wickmayer won in Vancouver in 2015 and Hibino won in Auckland qualifying in 2020.
World no. 108 Yanina Wickmayer has played most of her matches at the ITF level this year and the Belgian is 38-12 across levels. She has had a lot of success on all kinds of courts this season, but at the lower level. Wickmayer has featured in four ITF finals this season, winning one and losing one final on hard court, and triumphing in her only finals on clay and grass in Slovak Open and Surbiton Trophy respectively. Wickmayer also qualified for the Wimbledon main draw this year but lost in the first round. It will be her first tournament since that loss.
Facing the 33-year-old former world no. 12 will be Japan’s Nao Hibino, who also won an ITF tournament on hard court, winning in Kshiwa in April. She was also in the second round in Miami this year and the round of 16 in Hua Hin. Overall, the 28-year-old world no. 126 is 28-19 across levels and 15-9 on hard courts. This is her first appearance in Poland. Can she make an early impact?.
Yanina Wickmayer v Nao Hibino Tip
Over 21.5 games in the match: 5/6
Viktoria Hruncakova v Kristina Kucova Preview
Head-to-Head: This will be a first meeting between the two.
In an all Slovakian battle world no. 122 Viktoria Hruncakova will take on world no. 496 Kristina Kucova in the opening round of the Poland Open.
Hruncakova has already made deep runs in two WTA tournaments this year. First it was in Auckland, when she went from qualifiers to quarterfinals before being stopped by Danka Kovinic. Then in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the 25-year-old went on to reach the semifinals. In between she also reached the final of an ITF event in Talliinn. Overall, she is 22-19 across levels and 4-5 on hard courts. She is 6-2 from her last eight matches played over two tournaments and that includes the Wimbledon qualifiers. Can she begin well in Warsaw?
She will be up against Kristina Kucova in the first round. Kucova has had a tough time over the last two years and as a result of her poor results she has slipped down the rankings to no. 486 in the world. She has a 6-8 record across levels and is 2-4 on hard courts with both her wins coming in qualifying rounds. Kucova was a finalist at the Poland Open in 2021, when she went down to Maryna Zanevska. That remains her only tour level final. However, the tournament was then played on clay and it has moved to hard courts from this season. The 33-year-old former world no. 71 may find the going tough this year.
Viktoria Hruncakova v Kristina Kucova Tip
This should be a one-sided affair with Hruncakova winning with ease. Hruncakova to win: 1/6
Laura Siegemund v Maja Chwalinska Preview
Head-to-Head:It’s a first meeting between the two.
World no. 152 Laura Siegemund of Germany brings a 17-13 season record into the tournament, with 12 of those 17 wins coming in qualifying rounds of various tournaments. Siegemund has struggled for most parts of the year with her best being a third round finish at the Australian Open. She also made it to the second rounds in Miami and Hobart on hard and in Madrid on clay. That performance in Madrid was her only second round on a surface outside hard court this year. So overall the German has not been in best of forms this season and has been very inconsistent. It will be interesting to see if she can find rhythm in the Poland Open.
Facing Siegemund is Chwalinska, the world no. 330, who will be making her first main draw appearance at a tour level event this year. The 21-year-old lefty is 6-9 across levels and that includes runs to two ITF quarterfinals, both on clay. This will be the Polish player’s second appearance at the Poland Open. Last year, on debut, she had begun with a win but then went down in the round of 16. How far can she go this season?
Laura Siegemund v Maja Chwalinska Tip
Siegemund has loads of experience at the highest level and she should advance to the next round without much trouble. Siegemund to win the match: 1/6
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The 2023 Poland Open will be played from July 24 to 30. Get our ultimate guide on tennis betting and predictions here.
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