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Match Details
Fixture: (1) Zheng Qinwen vs Yulia Putintseva
Date: TBD
Tournament: Mutua Madrid Open
Round: Second Round (Round of 64)
Venue: La Caja Majica, Madrid, Spain
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: €7,877,020
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN+
Zheng Qinwen and Yulia Putintseva preview
Zheng Qinwen will open her 2024 Madrid Open campaign with a tricky second-round encounter against Yulia Putintseva.
Zheng, the sixth seed at this year’s tournament, has played only one tournament on the red dirt in the lead-up to the WTA 1000 event. She won a match in Stuttgart before losing to Marta Kostyuk despite having held five match points.
The Chinese player’s 2024 season got off to a flying start when she made her first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open only to fizzle out. Her win-loss this season stands at 13-7.
Putintseva, meanwhile, has overcome a slow start to the season to put together a decent 15-11 win-loss for the year.
The Kazakh made a big quarterfinal at the Miami Open, a WTA 1000 tournament, with big wins over the likes of Liudmila Samsonova and Anhelina Kalinina. A return to her beloved clay has seen post a 6-2, 6-4 win over another talented Chinese in the form of Yue Yuan in her Madrid opener.
Zheng Qinwen and Yulia Putintseva head-to-head
Putintseva leads Zheng 1-0 in their current head-to-head, having beaten her in their only previous meeting at last year’s French Open.
Zheng Qinwen and Yulia Putintseva odds
(Odds to be updated)
Zheng Qinwen and Yulia Putintseva prediction
The vast gulf in the world rankings notwithstanding, fans can expect a close contest when Zheng Qinwen and Yulia Putintseva step out on court.
Putintseva is a clay court maverick, having lifted two trophies on the surface throughout her career. Her counterpunching style is tailor-made for the slow conditions and her ability to tackle pace was on full display in her opener against Yue Yuan.
The Kazakh’s impressive win percentage on first serve return, 43 percent, should send worrying signs to Zheng, who relies on her serve to win a fair few easy points.
The Chinese player remains the more explosive player off the ground, but her recent run of form makes her prone to an upset.
Prediction: Putinseva to win in three sets
