WTA China Open Tennis Tips
The WTA China Open, which is the first of two consecutive 1000 Series tournaments, is boiling up nicely and Tuesday’s action features a number of mouthwatering last-16 ties headlined by top seed Aryna Sabalenka’s clash against American Madison Keys.
Two former Grand Slam champions, Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff, also do battle in Beijing while the men’s event, which is slightly less lucrative being an ATP 500 event, is at the semi-final stage.
However, the cream has risen to the top in that tournament with Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev clashing in one semi-final while world number one Jannik Sinner figures in the other.
WTA China Open Tennis Alcaraz to win 2-0 v Medvedev @ 1.83
This should be a blockbuster semi-final between world number three Alcaraz and world number five Medvedev, who have a habit of coming into battle at the back end of tournaments.
These two have met six times since the start of 2023 and five of those rivalries have come in either a semi-final or a title decider, with Alcaraz winning on five occasions.
Alcaraz stretched his winning run over Medvedev to three in the Wimbledon semi-final in July and their three meetings over this best-of-three set format have all gone to the Spaniard in straight sets.
The 21-year-old has responded superbly to his early exit at the US Open at the end of August, winning his last six matches 2-0, and he could repeat the feat with Medvedev seemingly not performing to the standards he was in the summer.
WTA China Open Tennis Starodubtseva to beat Kalinskaya @ 2.45
Yuliia Starodubtseva is playing with serious confidence and, having lost only two of her last 14 matches, the Ukrainian world number 115 may be able to spring a surprise on 10th seed Anna Kalinskaya.
Starodubtseva has already had to win three main-draw matches to reach the last 16, all of whom were opponents ranked higher than herself, and she has done so without dropping a set.
The 24-year-old made the quarter-final in Monastir earlier this month while she showed her capabilities when pushing former Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka to three sets at the US Open at the end of August.
Starodubtseva looks capable of climbing the rankings significantly in the coming seasons and she can cause a stir against Kalinskaya, who may be flattered by her lofty world ranking of number 14.
The Russian needed a deciding set in her opening win over Hailey Baptiste while her latest victim, Peyton Stearns, was forced to retire due to injury when 3-1 down in the third.
WTA China Open Tennis Zhang to beat Frech @ 2.55
Shuai Zhang arrived in Beijing on a 24-match losing streak but her home crowd has inspired her to a dramatic turnaround in form, something which she can maintain with a last-16 victory over Magdalena Frech.
The 35-year-old Chinese veteran was without a win in 603 days but she has powered her way past McCartney Kessler, Emma Navarro and Greet Minnen in straight sets.
There has been seemingly no fluke about those successes, which includes the 6-4 6-2 victory over world number eight Navarro, and she may be able to keep the resurgence going against Frech.
The Pole did win a title in Guadalajara two weeks ago but her two victories in Beijing over Alycia Parks and Diana Shnaider came in a deciding set, suggesting that at some point her busy schedule will catch up with her.
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