San Diego Open 2022: Iga Swiatek vs Qinwen Zheng preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Iga Swiatek vs (LL) Qinwen Zheng.
Date: October 13, 2022.
Tournament: San Diego Open 2022.
Round: Second round (Round of 16).
Venue: Barnes Tennis Center, San Diego, California, United States.
Category: WTA 500.
Surface: Hardcourt.
Prize money: $757,900.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK – Amazon Prime Video.
Iga Swiatek vs Qinwen Zheng preview
After a first-round bye, top seed Iga Swiatek will square off against lucky loser Qinwen Zheng in the second round of the 2022 San Diego Open on Thursday.
Swiatek has been the most dominant player on the WTA tour this season. She started the year with semifinal finishes at the Adelaide International and the Australian Open. After an early loss in Dubai, the Pole kicked off a 37-match winning streak.
The Pole captured six titles during her unbeaten run, including her second Major title at the French Open. A third-round loss at Wimbledon snapped her winning streak. Her results leading up to the US Open were underwhelming by the high standards set by her. But the World No. 1 still managed to win her third Grand Slam title in New York.
Swiatek then competed at the Ostrava Open. She defeated Ajla Tomljanovic, Caty McNally and Ekaterina Alexandrova to reach yet another final. However, she lost to Barbora Krejcikova in a closely contested match, which also ended her 10-match win streak in the finals.
Despite being ranked No. 28, Qinwen Zheng had to compete in qualifying rounds given the depth of the field in San Diego. She defeated Rebecca Marino 6-1, 6-1, but lost to Camila Osorio in three sets.
She got a second lease of life following Elena Rybakina's withdrawal due to an illness. She replaced the Kazakh as a lucky loser and was up against two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza in the first round.
Zheng raced to a 5-0 lead in no time as the Spaniard was struggling with some physical issues. Muguruza called it quits after that, sending the Chinese into the second round.
Iga Swiatek vs Qinwen Zheng head-to-head
Swiatek leads Zheng 1-0 in the head-to-head. She won their previous encounter at the 2022 French Open in three sets.
Iga Swiatek vs Qinwen Zheng odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Iga Swiatek vs Qinwen Zheng prediction
It has been quite the rollercoaster ride for Zheng in San Diego, but she has made it to the second round here. She didn't get to fully test herself against Muguruza in the previous round, but still has enough match play under her belt after playing the qualifiers.
Zheng now faces a tough challenge in the form of Swiatek. She was the only player to win a set against the World No. 1 during her French Open run. She was hampered by menstrual cramps in that match, but showed plenty of promise. The Chinese youngster has a big serve and groundstrokes to match.
Swiatek used to have some trouble with big-hitters in the past, but handles them with ease now. Still, she was tested quite a bit by Zheng in Paris as she sprayed a fair few errors in response to her opponent's game. The World No. 1 will be looking to rebound after a tough loss to Krejcikova earlier this week.
The Pole has won at least one match in every tournament she has competed in this year. This will be her first match here and given her form this season, it's hard to see Zheng breaking this streak.
Pick: Iga Swiatek to win in straight sets.