French Open 2022: Simona Halep vs Qinwen Zheng preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick

Match Details

Fixture: (19) Simona Halep vs Qinwen Zheng

Tournament: French Open 2022

Date: 26 May 2022

Round: Second round (Round of 64)

Venue: Paris, France

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Outdoor clay

Prize money: €21,256,800

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel, NBC Sports and Peacock TV | Canada - TSN | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Ten.

Simona Halep vs Qinwen Zheng preview

Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep will lock horns with World No. 74 Qinwen Zheng in the second round of the French Open on Thursday.

Halep was up against lucky loser Nastasja Schunk, the World No. 165, in the first round. It was expected to be a routine match for the former Roland Garros champion, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. The Romanian was immediately on the backfoot in the opening set as she trailed 0-3.

Halep then broke her opponent's serve thrice to clinch the first set. However, she was unable to build on the momentum as Schunk, who was playing at a level well above her ranking, easily won the second set. With plenty of big names crashing out in the first round itself, the former World No. 1 stared at the prospect herself.

However, Halep regrouped and played some of her best tennis in the deciding set to win 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.

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Qinwen Zheng is a young Chinese player on the rise. The 19-year-old won just a solitary match on clay in the lead-up to the French Open, which was against 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens at Charleston.

Competing in her maiden French Open main draw, Zheng took on Maryna Zanevska in the first round. A single break of serve in the opening set was enough for the teenager to win it. She performed even better in the second set, breaking her opponent's serve thrice to win the match 6-3, 6-1 on her Paris debut.

Simona Halep vs Qinwen Zheng head-to-head

The two have faced off once before, with Halep leading 1-0 in the head-to-head. She won their previous match at the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set in straight sets.

Simona Halep vs Qinwen Zheng odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games (Over & Under)
Simona Halep	-400	+1.5 (-1100)	Over 19.5 (-115)
Qinwen Zheng	+280	-1.5 (+525)	Under 19.5 (-115)

All odds are sourced from BetMGM.

Simona Halep vs Qinwen Zheng prediction

Halep's second set walkabout in her first-round face-off with Schunk almost cost her the match. She was quite passive, missed shots she'd normally make and dumped them into the net. The former World No. 1, however, upped the aggression in the deciding set and played much better towards the end. The Romanian committed 31 unforced errors and hit just 19 winners, a concerning stat.

Halep will need to clean up her act ahead of her second-round clash. Zheng performed much better in her opening round. Her serve was on fire, winning a whopping 95% of her first-serve points. The teenager's serve will, however, be put to the test against Halep, who is one of the best returners on the tour.

In their previous encounter in Melbourne earlier this year, Zheng failed to make any in-roads into Halep's serve. While the former World No. 1 is a capable server, it's still a shot that can be attacked. The Chinese youngster's own serve let her down as well, but part of it can also be attributed to Halep being an excellent returner.

While Halep was far from her best in the first round, sometimes it's about getting over the finish line. This is a tournament where she has done really well in the past, with a couple of runner-up finishes before lifting the trophy in 2018. The Romanian will be looking to improve after a less-than-stellar opening, and given her lofty resume on clay, she's likely to put her best foot forward in the next match.

Pick: Simona Halep to win in straight sets.

Also Check Out :- French Open 2022 Schedule