Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Muchova Prediction United Cup Tennis Picks 1/1/25

Iga Swiatek notched two wins in Poland's 2-1 victory over Norway on Monday. The World No. 2 won her singles match in supreme style, dropping only one game to World No. 404 Malene Helgo.

Swiatek took 63 minutes to teach the 25-year-old a lesson of baseline dominance. She hit three aces and three double faults and landed 67% of first serves.

Swiatek won 88% of first-serve points (21/24) and won 58% of second-serve points (7/12). She did not face a single break point on her own serve.

On return, Swiatek won 62% of points (29/47) and converted five of 12 break points.

Hubert Hurkacz's defeat to Casper Ruud meant that mixed doubles decided who won the tie. So Swiatek partnered with Jan Zielinski and the pair defeated Ruud and Ulrikke Eikeri 10-8 in a third-set 10-point tie-break.

Karolina Muchova Preview

Czechia had defeated Norway in its opening tie in this group thanks to their doubles heroics. Karolina Muchova put her country in command by sweeping aside Malene Helgo, underlining the gulf in ranking between them.

The match took 16 games to decide with Muchova spending 78 minutes on the court. Muchova broke Helgo twice in the opening set and three times in the second set.

The World No. 22 dropped her serve once at the start of the second set, but she was not in any danger throughout the match which was hardly a contest.

Czechia lost its men's singles match in a three-hour epic, but it was heartbreak for Team Norway because Muchova and Machac were simply too good in mixed doubles, winning that rubber 6-4, 6-4.

Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Muchova Head-To-Head

• Swiatek and Muchova have met three times on the WTA Tour.

• Swiatek leads Muchova 2-1 in their series.

• Swiatek's wins came at the French Open and most recently in Montreal in 2023.

• Muchova's only victory over the Pole was in 2019 in her home tournament in Prague.

Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Muchova Prediction

It's up to Poland and Czechia to fight it out for the top spot in Group B. Nobody expected Norway to qualify, but they gave a good account of themselves especially their talisman Casper Ruud who won his two singles matches.

Ultimately teamwork wins the day at the United Cup and Poland and Czechia had strength in depth and will have a straight shootout on New Year's Day to determine who wins the group. Muchova's only win over Swiatek was back in 2019 when the World No. 2 was yet to establish herself as a mega household name in the sport.

But Muchova's diverse style of tennis has never allowed Swiatek to settle on the court. And case in point is how the Czech came mighty close to beating her in the Roland Garros final in 2023. Also to mention that their only hard-court meeting went the full distance which indicates that Swiatek can get into her preferred rhythm. I like Muchova's chances especially if she can sustain her composure throughout. She's got the tools to make life difficult for Swiatek, from unpredictable drop shots and slices, to smooth movement and aggression. And a win would give Czechia a massive advantage in the tie.