Harriet Dart v Marta Kostyuk: Prediction, Tips and Odds

The second round of the US Open begins on Wednesday and Harriet Dart is one of a handful of players carrying British hopes at Flushing Meadows.

The British number three began her campaign in New York with a comfortable and assured 6-1 6-2 thrashing of Chloe Paquet of France.

But the competition goes up a level for Dart in the second round as she prepares to lock horns with 19th seed Marta Kostyuk.

Kostyuk was similarly ruthless in her opener, winning 6-2 6-3 against WTA Cleveland champion and home talent McCartney Kessler last time out.

And, while the odds are stacked against Dart, she can draw confidence from the fact she has beaten Kostyuk before, with the head-to-head between the players level at 1-1.

The winner of this contest will go on to face either 13th seed Emma Navarro or Dutch talent Arantxa Rus in the third round of the Grand Slam.

Harriet Dart v Marta Kostyuk betting tips and predictions

Marta Kostyuk to win 2-1 - 13/5

Kostyuk is clear favourite to win this contest and it is hard to dispute the odds.

The Ukrainian is simply the more experienced player and is enjoying a pretty strong season, having reached a career-high 16th in the WTA rankings as recently as June, while she currently finds herself inside the top 20.

A first title of the season still eludes her - she has won just one WTA Tour title in her career - but she has been pretty consistent on tour with 26 wins from 41 matches.

At the start of the year, she reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open.

Performing so well in a major tournament on hard courts should have done her confidence the world of good heading to Flushing Meadows and she did not give opening opponent Kessler a sniff, firing down three aces and winning 87 per cent of points on first serve en route to a straight sets victory.

But Kostyuk could well face more resistance from Dart in the second round.

The Brit enjoyed plenty of game time on the hard courts in the build-up to the Grand Slam and even in defeat she looked a handful.

Indeed, Dart has won a set in three of her last four defeats and she rarely goes down without a fight.

In her last Grand Slam appearance at Wimbledon in July, she carved a path to the third round, defeating 32nd seed Katie Boulter on the way, then taking a set off Xinyu Wang before exiting.

With that in mind, Kostyuk looks a juicy price at 13/5 to win this match but be taken to three sets.

Marta Kostyuk to win and over 19.5 games - 13/10

A similar approach to the first wager, Kostyuk to win and over 19.5 games could also appeal at 13/10.

Punters who expect a Kostyuk win but also fight from Dart could well opt for this approach instead.

If the match goes to three sets and Kostyuk wins, the bet more than likely lands, but punters have the added insurance of a potential win even if Kostyuk wins in straight sets, for example 6-4 6-4.

Either way, Dart will not go down easily and the manner of her win over Paquet in the first round suggests she could be a testing opponent for the Ukrainian.

Read more tennis betting tips and predictions on site

Harriet Dart v Marta Kostyuk odds

Harriet Dart - 3/1
Marta Kostyuk - 1/4

View the full market and more odds for Harriet Dart v Marta Kostyuk on site

Read Harriet Dart v Marta Kostyuk how to watch, TV channel, start time and head-to-head stats and more on site

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.