Marta Kostyuk, meanwhile, is making her debut in Toronto and opened her account with a polished performance against Tatjana Maria. Remarkably, the scoreline was identical to Svitolina’s in a match that was briefly interrupted by rain. The World No. 20 took just 55 minutes on the clock, hammering four aces to one double fault. Maria’s quirky baseline style of slices can be tricky to deal with, especially for younger opponents.

But Kostyuk has improved by leaps and bounds this season and had no problem countering the German’s skillset. Kostyuk was excellent on serve, winning 82% first-serve points (14/17) and 75% second-serve points (15/20). She converted five of eight break points in the match and did not face a single break point on her own serve. Such was her dominance.

Elina Svitolina vs Marta Kostyuk Head-To-Head

• Svitolina leads Kostyuk 1-0 in their head-to-head. That match took place at the 2018 Australian Open.

Elina Svitolina vs Marta Kostyuk Prediction

Svitolina continues to be the juggernaut of Ukrainian tennis, and she’s held that distinction for so long. She is a former World No. 3 but will enter Thursday’s match against countrywoman Kostyuk as the lower-ranked player. The 22-year-old Kostyuk is having the season of her life and it is only a matter of time before she eventually bags her first title of 2024. She’s come close on a couple of occasions, reaching the final in San Diego and Stuttgart. Svitolina is the big favorite according to the bookies, but there is very little to separate these two. And considering Kostyuk’s rapid improvement this year, we are happy to back the World No. 20 at +145.