Coco Gauff survived a tricky encounter with Paula Badosa at the 2024 Italian Open, and her reward is taking on fellow Top 10 player Qinwen Zheng.
Both of them had tricky matches in the previous round, but they passed the test pretty well. Zheng faced Naomi Osaka and easily outplayed her to win in straight sets. That was quite impressive to see because Osaka herself has been performing really well this week.
Gauff faced an in-form Badosa and passed the test as well, even though it was quite tough. The Spanish player won the opening set, but the 20-year-old was able to overcome all of that and beat Badosa in the next two sets, especially the final one, which wasn't really a contest as she won six games in a row.
Now they face each other in a rather fascinating matchup where Gauff might have some problems but let's see just how much.
Head-to-head:
Gauff and Zheng have never faced each other before, so this will be quite an interesting meeting. Gauff has a better record on clay in terms of her success on the surface, but Zheng is also great on the red dirt, with a career 68-22 record on clay.
That's actually more wins than Gauff has on the surface, but the American played in a Roland Garros final before. Both have been tremendous this week, but stylistically, they're different.
Gauff has been increasing the aggression lately, but Zheng just has it naturally. She's a baseliner with a lot of power and a good serve. I actually think that both the serve and baseline play are more consistent for Zheng. She doesn't have the athleticism of the American and that's one thing she'll have to figure out.
| Coco Gauff | Qinwen Zheng | |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | H2H | 0 |
| 3 | Rank | 7 |
| 20 | Age | 21 |
| 24-7 | 2024 W/L | 16-8 |
| 191-84 | Career W/L | 199-89 |
Prediction:
I think Zheng will do her best, but overall, I assume that Gauff will overwhelm her with her superb maneuverability and quickness. Zheng is still quite streaky, and that's a problem even if she has better weapons overall.
Prediction: Coco Gauff to win in three sets.
0 Comments