Unfortunately, there are only three quarter-final matches at the WTA Zhengzhou Open. This year’s Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur was forced to withdraw from her contest with Daria Kasatkina due to a knee injury. However, the remaining quarterfinal clashes are still likely to be very entertaining. 2021 French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova is one of the players in action. Who do you think will join Kasatkina in the semifinals?
WTA Zhengzhou Quarterfinal Predictions
Laura Siegemund vs Jasmine Paolini
Head-to-head: Siegemund 1-1 Paolini
The quality of Siegemund’s tennis at the age of 35 has impressed in recent months. But the German increased her recent level even further with a superb win from a set down against last week’s Beijing finalist Liudmila Samsonova. It is clear Paolini will offer a completely different test. While Samsonova is one of the hardest-hitting players on the WTA Tour, Paolini is far more consistent and patient. The Italian showed that by drawing many errors from Caroline Garcia in her last match. Paolini also has the advantage of an extra day between matches compared to her opponent. Siegemund will need to try and be aggressive but expect Paolini to have more consistency and energy to win at the WTA Zhengzhou Open.
Prediction: Paolini in 3
Anhelina Kalinina vs Qinwen Zheng
Head-to-head: Kalinina 2-0 Zheng
Kalinina has won both previous meetings between these two. However, those occurred on the ITF Circuit over two years ago, and are unlikely to have any bearing on this contest. Zheng was absolutely outstanding against Maria Sakkari in the last round and will be hard to stop if she reaches those levels again. Yet Kalinina is very dangerous when near her best. Both women like to play aggressively, and there are likely to be many winners and unforced errors throughout this one. Overall though, it is hard to go against Zheng at the WTA Zhengzhou Open. Her win against Sakkari will have given her so much confidence for this match.
Prediction: Zheng in 2
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Barbora Krejcikova vs Lesia Tsurenko
Head-to-head: Tsurenko 1-0 Krejcikova
The only previous meeting between these two was at this year’s French Open, where Tsurenko defeated the 2021 champion in straight sets. The Ukrainian beat tenth seed Donna Vekic in two tiebreaks in the last round. That is an impressive victory on paper, but in truth, it was a scrappy match, and Vekic struggled hugely throughout. Tsurenko is very likely to need to raise her level to beat Krejcikova again. The Czech may have some mental scarring from what happened at the French Open. Nonetheless, Krejcikova looked solid in her opening-round win at the WTA Zhengzhou Open, and I doubt Tsurenko will improve enough to cause another upset.
Prediction: Krejcikova in 2
Main Photo Credit: Ray Acevedo – USA TODAY Sports
