Canadian Open 2023: Caroline Garcia vs Marie Bouzkova preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Fixture: (5) Caroline Garcia vs Marie Bouzkova
Tournament: Canadian Open 2023
Round: Second Round (Round of 32)
Venue: Montreal, Canada
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $2,788,468
Live telecast
Caroline Garcia vs Marie Bouzkova
Caroline Garcia and Marie Bouzkova will square off in the second round of the 2023 Canadian Open in a repeat of their third-round epic at the Wimbledon Championships last month.
The Frenchwoman, seeded fifth at this year's SW19, came up short against the Czech — losing 7-5 in the decider. She has since gone on to make another early exit at the Citi Open and will be looking to rediscover her form heading into the North American hardcourt swing.
Bouzkova, for her part, is also fresh off a first-round exit at the Prague Open. The top seed at her home event, she suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of the big-hitting Jaquleine Cristian.
The exit may have disrupted the winning momentum that Bouzkova built over the European summer. She did, however, look comfortable in her opening win over Kayla Day here in Montreal and will be keen to build on the same.
Caroline Garcia vs Marie Bouzkova head-to-head
Bouzkova leads Garcia in their current head-to-head with a comfortable 3-0 margin. The Czech beat Garcia at Wimbledon in 2023 and 2022 and at Birmingham in 2021.
Caroline Garcia vs Marie Bouzkova
odds
(Odds will be added once they're available)
Caroline Garcia vs Marie Bouzkova prediction
Their past head-to-head shows that Caroline Garcia hasn't quite managed to crack the winning formula against Marie Bouzkova yet.
The Czech does bring to the court a certain variety with her slices and front court approaches that can disrupt an opponent's rythm. Playing Garcia on grass during all of their previous meetings definitely helped her cause.
On the quick American hardcourts though, Bouzkova may find it slightly more difficult to reap dividends off of her slices. She may also have a harder time hanging around in rallies against Garcia's powerful groundstrokes.
The Czech did manage to hold her own on serve in the first round — winning around 70% of the first serve points — and will need continue execelling in that department against an aggressive returner like Garcia.
Even so, if the Frenchwoman can play with some sense of restrain and not fall prey to ovepressing, the favorable conditions give her a good chance to score her win over Bouzkova.
Prediction: Garcia to win in two tight sets.
