Laura Pigossi - Marta Kostyuk predictions and free betting tips [26/05/2024]

Laura Pigossi is quite a well-known Brazilian tennis player, although she has never broken into the top 100 of the WTA world rankings. In the first round of the French Open, she will face Marta Kostyuk from Ukraine. Let's try to find a good bet for this match, but first, let's evaluate these players who will be eager to showcase their skills against each other.

Laura Pigossi

Pigossi doesn’t differentiate between hard and clay courts, striving to perform equally well on both. As a South American tennis player, she is naturally interested in clay because it allows her to perfect her academic technique. Nevertheless, many futures show how adept Laura is at handling fast ball bounces on hard courts.

The Brazilian has 10 career trophies, one of which is a WTA title won last season on the clay courts of Buenos Aires. Pigossi claimed this Challenger title with commendable performance, even though she wasn't considered the favourite of the tournament. Also, in 2023, Laura won a hard court Futures event and looked quite solid on clay.

This season, the Brazilian won an ITF tournament in Pretoria on hard courts and tried to shine in various clay tournaments. However, she hasn't made significant marks, aside from reaching the quarterfinals of the San Luis Potosi Challenger, where she played a poor match against Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

At the French Open, Pigossi passed through the entire qualification. All her matches were straightforward victories for Laura, but it's worth noting that her opponents were weak.

In the first round of the main draw at the French Open, Laura will face Marta Kostyuk, who is stronger but not particularly fond of playing on clay. If Pigossi executes her strategic combinations well, she might challenge the Ukrainian, though Laura remains the underdog and will be reliant on errors from Marta.

Marta Kostyuk

Last year, the Ukrainian claimed her first "main" trophy in Austin. However, her subsequent results were average, although her on-court performance remained solid.

This season, Marta has been playing very well but lacks concentration in crucial matches. She reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, where she couldn't overcome Coco Gauff. Nevertheless, Kostyuk played a commendable match against the American, faltering only in the third set. Later, she reached the final in San Diego, where it seemed she would outplay Katie Boulter, but after winning the first set, her game fell apart. She also reached the semi-finals of the Masters in Indian Wells, where she had nothing to counter Iga Świątek, and then the final of the clay tournament in Stuttgart, where she lost the decisive battle for the title to Elena Rybakina.

In the match against Pigossi at the French Open, Kostyuk needs to immediately establish that the Brazilian is the underdog and will fail in her minimum goal to progress past the first round. Kostyuk has significantly improved her serve and is successfully executing her typical game combinations, leaving no doubt that she should get past Laura Pigossi, likely with a score of 2:0.

Match Prediction: Laura Pigossi vs Marta Kostyuk

Better to bring Marta into the competitive rhythm straight away rather than searching for her game in a tough match later. Therefore, I am betting on the handicap for the Ukrainian (-5.5) games.