Iga Swiatek has been cruising through this Middle Eastern stretch, but what happens when she faces the Australian Open runner-up Qinwen Zheng?
Swiatek made history recently by matching a decade-old feat by Serena Williams of winning one event three years in a row. She did it at the Qatar Open, where she bested Elena Rybakina in the final, and the winning continued across the Gulf at the 2024 Dubai Championships.
She has won two matches at the event so far, but the second one over Elina Svitolina was rather interesting. She dominated but also struggled, and something similar may happen when she faces Zheng.
The Chinese player made her maiden Grand Slam final at the Australian Open recently but couldn’t overcome Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
Head-to-head:
When it comes to the H2H, it’s pretty one-sided. They have played five matches so far, and Swiatek has been able to win all of them. Two were played last year, and both were pretty convincing wins for the Polish number one, as was the one played this year at the United Cup.
Swiatek generally manages to outplay Zheng from the baseline, which is more than enough for her to win the match. Zheng is a typical baseliner, but she’s quite streaky. She needs to be at her best to stand a chance, and so far, she hasn’t been able to do that.
| Iga Swiatek | Qinwen Zheng | |
| 5 | H2H | 0 |
| 1 | Rank | 7 |
| 22 | Age | 21 |
| 11-1 | 2024 W/L | 9-3 |
| 292-67 | Career W/L | 184-79 |
Prediction:
There were a couple of matches where Zheng was able to put up a solid effort, but for the most part, she’s easily overmatched in this matchup. I don’t see it changing anytime soon, so back the reigning number one to cruise in this quarter-final.
Prediction: Iga Swiatek to win in two sets.
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