No.22 seed Qinwen Zheng will take on compatriot Wang Xiyu in the fourth round of the Italian Open
Qinwen Zheng is coming into the tournament following a second-round exit from the Madrid Open last week.
The Chinese star had made a great start to the season but her form has dipped recently and that’s a cause for worry.
She is desperate to turn things around in Rome and will be looking to capitalise on the good start that she has made at the Italian Open.
Zheng is yet to drop a set so far in the tournament. She began her campaign with a bang and defeated France’s Alize Cornet 6-3, 7-6.
The 22nd seed followed it up with another convincing straight-sets win over Hungary’s Anna Bondar. Zheng will look to carry forward this positive momentum to her next encounter and go deep into the tournament. However, a quality opponent in Wang stands in her way and there’s certainly no room for complacency.
Wang Xiyu’s form coming into the match at Italian Open
Xiyu Wang
Wang Xiyu has had a very impressive run so far in Rome. She registered a commendable 7-6, 7-6 victory against Italy’s Lucrezia Stefanini in her opening encounter to set the tone for her upcoming games.
In the second round, she pulled off an upset against 31st seed Irinia-Camelia Begu, once again winning in straight sets.
She then went on to defeat Taylor Townsend of the US in a thrilling encounter played over three sets to set up a Round of 16 clash against fellow Chinese ace Qinwen Zheng.
Details
Date – Monday, 15th May
Court Type – Clay outdoor surface
Telecast – Tennis Channel
Start Time – To be Announced
Location – Foro Italico
Match details – Round of 16 match
Head to head and Predictions
Zheng and Wang have played each other once before on the WTA tour. The sole encounter was played in Valencia, 2022 with Zheng emerging victorious in a thrilling encounter and thereby leads 1-0 on head to head.
On paper, Zheng is the favourite both in terms of form and rankings. However, one can certainly not rule out Wang Xiyu and she is expected to put up a tough fight. We are predicting an intense clash with Zheng eventually edging out Wang in three sets.
