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Match Details
Fixture: (17) Elena Rybakina vs Qinwen Zheng
Date: July 2, 2022.
Tournament: Wimbledon 2022.
Round: Third round (Round of 32).
Venue: London, United Kingdom.
Category: Grand Slam.
Surface: Grass.
Prize money: £40,350,000.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | Canada - TSN | UK - BBC & Eurosport | India - Star Sports & Disney+ Hotstar
Elena Rybakina vs Qinwen Zheng preview
17th seed Elena Rybakina locks horns with rising star Qinwen Zheng on Saturday for a place in the fourth round of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.
Rybakina had a fantastic start to the year, finishing as the runner-up to the-then World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in Adelaide. However, injuries, illnesses and a lack of consistency reared their ugly heads soon after, preventing the Kazakh from building on her Adelaide performance.
Rybakina managed to make the last eight at just one out of her next 13 tour-level events, bringing her win-loss record for the season to 21-12 heading into Wimbledon.
At the grasscourt Major, the World No. 23 seems to have found her range, though. She has won two matches in a row without conceding a set, beating Bad Homburg runner-up Bianca Andreescu and the dangerous Coco Vandeweghe along the way.
The 23-year-old needs to keep up her big ball-striking if she wants to return to the fourth round of Wimbledon for the second consecutive year.
Rybakina's next opponent, Qinwen Zheng, is sure to give her higher-ranked opponent a run for her money. Having won eight out of her eight singles finals on the ITF circuit, the 19-year-old Chinese is looking to make a statement on the WTA tour.
She reached the semifinals at the Melbourne Summer Set 1 this year before losing to eventual champion Simona Halep. Zheng then made her Grand Slam main draw debut at the Australian Open, where her campaign was cut short by Maria Sakkari in the second round.
Zheng then had a stunning outing at the French Open, reaching the fourth round on her maiden appearance.
Having won the WTA 125K event on clay in Valencia, the Chinese teen arrived at Wimbledon full of confidence. She has so far put up a commendable showing on her debut at the grasscourt Major, accounting for former US Open champion Sloane Stephens and Greet Minnen in straight sets on her way to the third round.
Elena Rybakina vs Qinwen Zheng head-to-head
Rybakina and Zheng have never squared off on the tour before, so their head-to-head is currently tied at 0-0.
Elena Rybakina vs Qinwen Zheng odds
(All odds are sourced from Oddschecker)
Elena Rybakina vs Qinwen Zheng prediction
There's little to separate the two players in this clash. Both are aggressive shotmakers who love to take the ball early and keep the points short. The outcome of the match will thus depend a lot on their serve and their ability to keep their unforced errors in check.
Rybakina has served 16 aces in her two matches, with 12 of them coming in the first round alone. She played a brilliant match against the highly talented Andreescu, striking 23 winners to 21 unforced errors. Some excellent first-strike tennis saw her win 80% of her first-serve points, giving the Canadian not much of a chance to come back into the match. She also made 15 forays into the net, winning 12 of those approaches.
The only icky area for Rybakina in that contest was her low first-serve percentage (50%), something she needs to considerably improve against the uber-attacking Zheng. The Chinese kept it very clean against Minnen in the second round with 24 winners to just 12 unforced errors. She also served eight aces and landed 63% of her first serves.
Clearly, Zheng has been playing fearlessly and will once again look to go all out against Rybakina. Although this has the makings of a classic, the Kazakh's flat ball-striking on grass could give her the edge if she can control her aggression under pressure. The World No. 23 has the experience of making a grasscourt semifinal last year in Eastbourne, which will come in handy when push comes to shove.
Pick: Rybakina to win in three sets.
