Paris Olympics 2024 Final: Zheng Qinwen vs Donna Vekic preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (6) Zheng Qinwen vs (13) Donna Vekic
Date: August 3, 2024
Tournament: Paris Olympics 2024
Round: Final
Venue: Stade Roland Garros, Paris, France
Category: Olympics
Surface: Clay
Live Telecast: USA - NBC, Peacock | UK - Eurosport, Discovery+, BBC iPlayer | Canada - CBC Gem, Radio Canada, Tou.tv | India - JioCinema, Sports18
Zheng Qinwen vs Donna Vekic preview
The final of the women's singles at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be contested between sixth-seeded Zheng Qinwen from China and thirteenth-seeded Donna Vekic from Croatia. Zheng has a 29-12 record in 2024, with one title at the Palermo Ladies Open. Other notable results for the Chinese player include reaching her maiden Grand Slam final at this year's Australian Open.
At the Olympics, Zheng started her campaign finely as she double-bageled former French Open runner-up Sara Errani in the first round, followed by an equally dominant win over Arantxa Rus in the second round. Zheng then came back from being a set down to defeating Emma Navarro of the USA in the third round.
In the quarter-final, Zheng faced off against former Grand Slam champion and World No. 1 Angelique Kerber. The Chinese player kept her composure to defeat Kerber in a tense third-set tiebreaker. The most impressive performance for Zheng came at the semi-final where she beat top seed Iga Swiatek in straight sets, thereby breaking the Pole's run of 25 continuous wins at Roland Garros starting in 2022.
Donna Vekic has a 27-15 record in 2024. Although the Croatian has not won any titles this year, she showed excellent form in the grass-court season, reaching the final of the Bad Homburg Open and the semi-final at the Wimbledon Championships.
At the Olympics, Vekic started her campaign with a straight-sets victory over Lucia Bronzetti and defeated former Grand Slam champion Bianca Andreescu in straight sets in the second round. Vekic faced off against second seed Coco Gauuf in the third round. Despite trailing in the first set, Vekic rallied back and won the straight-set match.
Vekic faced off against Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk in the quarter-final, winning in a tight three-set battle to set up a face-off against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova who was the surprise element in the tournament. Vekic put up a dominant show, winning the match 6-4, 6-0 to book a place in the final.
Zheng Qinwen vs Donna Vekic head-to-head
The head-to-head between the two players is tied at 1-1, with Zheng winning the most recent match at last year's WTA Elite Trophy.
Zheng Qinwen vs Donna Vekic odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Zheng Qinwen vs Donna Vekic prediction
Statistically, clay has been Zheng's strongest surface to date. The Chinese player has a 68 percent win ratio on the red dirt, with two of her three career titles coming on the clay. At Roland Garros, she has a 6-3 record, with a win ratio of 67 percent. Reaching the fourth round in 2024 has been her best result at the clay-court major.
The Paris Olympics will be the first instance of Vekic playing in the final of a clay-court event. The Croatian has fared the worst on the red dirt in her career, with a low 46 percent win ratio. She has not won any titles on the surface and has a paltry 10-12 record at Roland Garros with a win ratio below 50%.
Both players are in great form, but Zheng has been in good form on clay especially. She captured the Palermo Ladies Open just a week before the Olympics, and she defeated one of the best clay-court players in women's tennis when she defeated Iga Swiatek in the semi-final. Xheng has the advantage and should win the gold medal.
Pick- Zheng to win three sets.