Qinwen Zheng vs Jasmine Paolini Prediction: Zheng will claim victory again

The round of the quarterfinals, world #7 Qinwen Zheng faces off against world #6 Jasmine Paolini in this WTA 1000 event held in Wuhan, China. This match promises to be a great encounter on October 11, 2024, as two of the best talents women's tennis has ever seen go head-to-head. Either athlete has given their best performance as each won the last two matches in Wuhan en route to their semis berth. The head-to-head currently stands at 2-0 to Zheng, having last met at the Zhengzhou Open in 2023, which Zheng won in straight sets.

Qinwen Zheng comes into this match confident after she toughed out a three-set win against Leylah Fernandez, 5-7, 6-3, 6-0. Indeed, in her last 10 matches, she has won eight times and lost only two. She is serving well too; in the last match, she got 5 aces and an excellent second serve percentage of 92%. Furthermore, her aggressive return game, especially on second serves, winning 62%, may provide her with the additional key against Paolini's serve, which has been quite vulnerable during the last couple of matches.

Zheng will try to dictate the match with her heavy groundstrokes, pinning Paolini behind the baseline. She projects to control service games, as she has an effective strong first serve and can win points on her second serve, with a 68% success rate. Her return game is another important tool, especially against the vulnerable second serve of Paolini. Zheng has to be aggressive on the second serve of Paolini and look early to break.

Currently, Jasmine Paolini is the WTA #6. After Wuhan, she defeated Erika Andreeva in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. Her defensive style and counterpunching ability were doing quite well in her previous ten, winning seven. Her biggest weakness would be her serving, as evident by her four double faults. Though she would have a better second serve point percentage at 60% compared to Zheng,. On that note, however, her resilience and ability in converting break points could prove the decisive factor in causing Zheng to lose her rhythm.

With great footwork and using her excellent defending skills, Paolini can extend the rallies and push Zheng into making mistakes. The whole idea of the game plan for Paolini will be to mix her shots up, using her variety to keep Zheng off balance. She will also have to raise her serving game by reducing the double faults and increasing her first serve percentage to avoid giving Zheng free points. Any breaks coming her way will be important to convert for taking the lead.

With her form of late, combined with excellent serving statistics and an aggressive baseline game, Zheng is the favorite in this encounter. The potential to take an excellent percentage of second-serve points and to have an extremely dominating return game should guarantee her plenty of break opportunities against the Paolini serve. She has proven that time and time again, Zheng is capable of pulling through under such pressure, just like during her comeback win against Fernandez.

On the other hand, the strengths of Paolini are consistency and the ability to defend well. In a match against such a powerful and aggressive player like Zheng, this defensive game may hardly stand the prolonged pressure, provided her serve does not hold under Zheng's returns.

• Qinwen Zheng + Under 24.5 Games @ 1.936 Odds
• Under 21.5 Games @ 1.78 Odds
• Correct Score 2-0 @ 2.20 Odds