After an entertaining week of tennis in Thailand, the final is set at the WTA Hua Hin Open. Lesia Tsurenko has enjoyed an impressive return to form whilst Zhu Lin has continued her solid start to the season. It promises to be an entertaining final and, as always, we here at LWOT will be offering our prediction for the match. But who will come out on top?
WTA Hua Hin Final Prediction
Leisa Tsurenko vs Zhu Lin
Head-to-head: Tsurenko 1-0 Zhu
Tsurenko may not be the player she once was, but she has rolled back the years this week at the WTA Hua Hin Open. The Ukrainian opened her campaign with a battling 6-3 4-6 6-4 win over Ysaline Bonaventure before securing her spot in the quarterfinals with a 6-0 6-7 6-4 win over fourth seed Anna Kalinskaya. In the last eight, she dismissed eighth seed Tatjana Maria for the loss of only four games, before Bianca Andreescu’s retirement in the semifinals sent her to her first final of the season.
Zhu, meanwhile, arrived in Hua Hin fresh from reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open, where she took a set of former champion Victoria Azarenka. She had to battle back from a set down in the first round, but got the better of her compatriot Wang Xiyu. She then beat South Korea’s Jang Su-jeong, before reaching the semifinals with a 6-2 6-2 win over Tamara Zidansek. Zhu then beat seventh seed Wang Xinyu in straight sets in the semifinals.
It has been a good week for both, but Zhu has been more the impressive. Since dropping the first set against Wang in her opening match at the WTA Hua Hin Open, she has been little short of imperious. In contrast, Tsurenko has had to work hard for most of her wins. The Ukrainian did win their only previous match, but that was over three years ago and Zhu is a better player than she was in 2019. Expect Zhu to have the edge here.
Prediction: Zhu in 2
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
