Tennis doesn’t stop at the WTA Shenzhen Open. Across the first two days of main draw matches, all seven seeds in action found a way to advance to the round of 16. On Tuesday, top favorite Belinda Bencic will make her season debut. Is it time for an upset or not?
WTA Shenzhen Tuesday Predictions
Belinda Bencic vs Anna Blinkova
Head to Head: first meeting
Blinkova’s arrow is pointing up. She’s enjoyed two fruitful seasons in a row, attaining 90 overall wins (WTA & ITF) and only 55 losses. The Russian was a tough out in late 2019, snatching a set from Naomi Osaka at the US Open and from Sofia Kenin in Guangzhou. Nevertheless, because I’m not considering Coco Gauff elite yet, she lacked a marquee win that leads me to believe Bencic is in legit jeopardy.
The Swiss completed a terrific campaign, lifting both the Dubai (Premier 5) and Moscow (Premier) titles, while also reaching the US Open semis. If healthy, Bencic is a contender at any event she enters.
Prediction: Bencic in 2
Xiyu Wang vs Elise Mertens
Head to Head: first meeting
Wang’s 3-6 6-1 6-1 comeback against No. 74 Sorana Cirstea certainly qualifies as one of her finest career wins. Ranking wise, it’s her third best win. The 18-year-old lefty will face a tough test in Mertens. In 2019, the Belgian won five out of six matches against left-handed opponents, with her lone defeat coming against French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova, who is a class or two above No. 144 Wang at the moment.
Despite being known as one of the most reliable players on tour, Mertens dropped three matches against sub-100 foes last year. If Lin Zhu, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and Kristie Ahn did it, why can’t the rising Wang follow suit?
Prediction: Mertens in 3
Shuai Zhang vs Kateryna Bondarenko
Head to Head: Bondarenko 1-0 Zhang
The Ukrainian, currently ranked No. 1168 after missing pretty much the whole 2019 season, obtained a good 6-4 6-1 victory over Misaki Doi in the round of 32. Bondarenko won a 73.2% of her first serve points, her highest rate on a WTA main draw match since October 2017 against Marga Linette, according to Tennis Abstract.
Speaking of Linette, the Pole was Zhang’s first victim at the Shenzhen Open. The world No. 40 completed a bizarre 2019, as almost half of her tour level wins (9 of 20) came at Slams.
I’m not expecting a lopsided affair here, but Bondarenko needs it more to build his ranking back.
Prediction: Bondarenko in 3
Aryna Sabalenka vs Kristyna Pliskova
Head to Head: first meeting
Sabalenka began her title-defense campaign on a strong note, mauling Margarita Gasparyan 6-3 6-0. The second seed won 56.4% of her return points.
It won’t be easy to replicate such a strong returning performance against the big-serving Pliskova. The Czech fired six aces and won 72.7% of her service points versus Irina-Camelia Begu, whom she handily dismissed 6-3 6-3.
Still, unless she shows clear signs of weakness, Sabalenka is the woman to beat in China.
Prediction: Sabalenka in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
