The 2023 WTA Zhengzhou Open is the last 500-event of the season and despite a few withdrawals, the line-up has plenty of star power. There are four matches on day four and, as always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the slate, but who will book their place in the quarterfinals?
WTA Zhengzhou Day 4 Predictions
Liudmila Samsonova vs Laura Siegemund
Head-to-head: Samsonova 2-0 Siegemund
Liudmila Samsonova is coming off a very long week in Beijing, but in her win over Tatjana Maria it didn’t look like she was carrying any physical issues. She now faces another German veteran in Laura Siegemund, who’s basically a doubles specialist these days. Don’t sleep on her in singles though as she can still execute her game at a very high standard from time to time. If Samsonova can keep her great run going, she might take her down again like on two occasions in 2022 though.
Prediction: Samsonova in 2
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Ons Jabeur vs Lucia Bronzetti
Head-to-head: Jabeur 1-0 Bronzetti
Ons Jabeur recently took the title in Ningbo, but maybe paid the price for that with an early exit in Beijing the week after. Now she’s already qualified for the WTA Finals, so we’ll see how motivated she’ll be to keep going for another trophy in Zhengzhou. Lucia Bronzetti is her first opponent as the Tunisian got a bye in the opening round. Maybe if there’s a bit of a lack of focus for the World No. 7, then we could see the upset here. But ultimately, Jabeur’s just so much more creative and skillful.
Prediction: Jabeur in 2
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Bai Zhuoxuan vs Daria Kasatkina
Head-to-head: first meeting
Bai Zhouxuan produced a nice comeback win to beat Tamara Korpatsch in the opening round. The former top 10 junior is definitely yet to unveil her full potential, but it’s also doubtful whether she’ll be ready to do it against a player like Daria Kasatkina. After all, her only other match against a top 20 player was a 1-6 1-6 beatdown from Jabeur. It’s going to be interesting to see if Bai pushes Kasatkina, but beating her seems unlikely.
Prediction: Kasatkina in 2
Barbora Krejcikova vs Petra Martic
Head-to-head: Martic 1-0 Krejcikova
Barbora Krejcikova started the season in a way that made you think she might make the WTA Finals field with ease, but it was all downhill from there. It’s quite unclear what she’ll show in Zhengzhou as well, given that she had a bye in the opening round and lost her only match this Asian swing to Mirra Andreeva 2-6 2-6. At least Petra Martic will be in better match rhythm and the variety that Krejcikova brings to the court doesn’t hurt her all that much. She has plenty of it herself.
Prediction: Martic in 3
Main photo credit: Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports
