Zhang Shuai vs Anett Kontaveit Prediction: Kontaveit should grab a win here

The WTA scene is a complicated one as there are times when the top ten seeds can end up being ousted within the first three or four rounds and thus for betting enthusiasts, this poses a lot of tricky scenarios. And this will be the case when we engage in these scenarios even in major tournaments. What will be the case when second-seeded Anett Kontaveit takes on Zhang Shuai? 

Kontaveit was on fire from the second half of 2021 to the first half of 2022, a run where she won multiple WTA titles and thus shot up to the number two ranking. This golden period made her one of the elite players but ever since acquiring the second seed, her fortunes have rather slimmed down. She is certainly in a slump and hasn’t played like a top player for a decent chunk of time now.

Kontaveit comes into this game after another tense affair for her where she defeated Tereza Martincova 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. She has repeatedly started slow and has looked out of sorts for months now. She was ousted in the first round of the Candian Open by Jil Teichmann whereas during Wimbledon, she had an embarrassing Second Round against Julie Niemeier and she was also ousted in the first round of the French Open by Ajla Tomljanovic. Seems like her bout against COVID-19 has slowed her down a bit.

Shuai is 33 now and has seen a lot of big battles in her career. She has been a huge Doubles player, winning two titles but her singles record has suffered in the competitive atmosphere of the WTA circuit. Shuai has been getting it done in the initial round but after that, the higher ranked players have had her number. Still, the ranking of 44 is something to be proud of in such a highly loaded circuit.

During the tournament, she defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Round of 32 while taking care of business against Naomi Osaka in the first round. She had a decent run during Wimbledon, reaching the third round after defeating Misaki Doi and Marta Kostyuk. Shuai can get it done here which will not be surprising but it will be interesting to see how she responds a bit vulnerable to Kontaveit.

This will be the fifth game between Zhang and Anett, with Shuai having won three of the four battles. Kontaviet defeated Zhang during Sydney Tennis Classic in two sets.

Anett has been struggling a bit with her timing as of late and she has hit a bit of a cold spell. That is why it is tough to gauge how she will perform here as her campaigns have been thwarted quickly. Zhang has been posing a decent threat lately and has defeated some strong players and she will come in with a distance here. However, I believe Anett will take care of business here.