Hua Hin Open 2023: Maria vs Tsurenko Tennis Prediction & Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 Hua Hin Open as Tatjana Maria takes on Lesia Tsurenko in the quarterfinal on Friday, February 3, 2023.

Tatjana Maria is unbeaten in her last seven matches. But Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko should pose a difficult assignment on Friday. Who will prevail and reach the Hua Hin Open semifinals?

After sweeping to the ITF title in India this past week, Tatjana Maria has kept that winning run going at the Hua Hin Open. A 6-0 6-4 hammering of former champion Dayana Yastremska meant that she has now won seven straight matches dating back to last week. And she has not dropped a set in that span. Will her game, and her slice, in particular, hold up to the more disciplined Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko?

Lesia Tsurenko, for her part, reached a rare WTA quarterfinal with a fine win over rising Russian star Anna Kalinskaya. Tsurenko dug out a 6-0 6-7 6-4 win, breaking Kalinskaya 11 times. However, the Ukrainian had some uncomfortable moments on her serve and will need to improve considerably to reach the semis in Hua Hin at the expense of in-form Tatjana Maria.

Tatjana Maria and Lesia Tsurenko are tied at 1-1 in their head-to-head. But they haven’t played each other since 2015 in Brisbane. Tsurenko will be hoping for an injury-free 2023. She is currently ranked outside the top 100, but lest we forget she’s been ranked as high as No. 23. Were it not for injuries, Tsurenko would have feasibly added more titles to her trophy cabinet. She’s looked decent in Hua Hin this week, but her serve remains a glaring area of weakness that Maria can exploit. The German used her killer slice to good effect in luring Yastremska to malfunction from the baseline and should have the edge against Tsurenko in the quarterfinal.