Qinwen Zheng vs Xiyu Wang
May 15, 2023 9:00 am EDT
The Line: Xiyu Wang +300 / Qinwen Zheng -400
(Get latest betting odds)
Qinwen Zheng and Xiyu Wang meet in the fourth round of the 2023 tennis Italian Open. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
Qinwen Zheng is coming off a straight set win over Anna Bondar that took 23 games to decide. In the victory, Zheng won 63 percent of her first serve points and 48 percent of her second serve points. Zheng won 58 percent of her total service points and converted on 5 of her 7 break points. Zheng got 63 percent of her first serves in play and hit 4 aces. Zheng has a chance to win 3 straight matches for the first time since Abu Dhabi back in February. Zheng looks to make her second career WTA 1000 quarterfinal and first since last year’s Canadian Open. Zheng has won 8 of her last 10 matches on clay court.
Xiyu Wang is coming off a 3 sets win over Taylor Townsend that took 26 games to decide. In the victory, Wang won 69 percent of her first serve points and 15 percent of her second serve points. Wang won 57 percent of her total service points and converted on 5 of her 16 break points. Wang got 77 percent of her first serves in play and hit 3 aces. Wang has won 4 of her last 5 matches that have gone the distance, and 5 of her last 6 matches overall. Wang has now won 3 straight matches for the first time since Cluj-Napoca back in October. Wang looks to make her first career WTA 1000 quarterfinal appearance. Wang has won 5 of her last 6 matches on clay court.
Zheng won the only meeting against Wang, which was a 2022 challenger match in Valencia. The match was decided in 3 sets and 29 games.
Big match for Chinese tennis, as one of these young players will make a quarterfinal trip in a WTA 1000 event. While the stakes weren’t as high, the match last year was super competitive. Still, I have to give the edge to Zheng, who is the more polished player at this stage and should do a better job of controlling the nerves. This is also a massive step-up in competition given what Wang has faced this week.
I like Zheng to reach the quarters, and I’ll take her in straight sets to shave down the price.
