Tokyo 2022: Veronika Kudermetova vs Qinwen Zheng preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick | Toray Pan Pacific Open
Match Details
Fixture: (4) Veronika Kudermetova vs Qinwen Zheng.
Date: September 24, 2022.
Tournament: Toray Pan Pacific Open 2022.
Round: Semifinal.
Venue: Tokyo, Japan.
Category: WTA 500.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $757,900.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Veronika Kudermetova vs Qinwen Zheng preview
Fourth seed Veronika Kudermetova will face off against World No. 36 Qinwen Zheng in the semifinals of the Pan Pacific Open on Saturday.
After a first-round bye, Kudermetova kicked off her campaign in Tokyo by handing Fernanda Contreras Gomez a 6-0, 6-1 beatdown in the second round. She took on fifth seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the quarterfinals.
The Brazilian jumped to a 5-2 lead in the opening set, but was made to work for every point. She then failed to serve out the set as Kudermetova went on a three-game run to level the score. But the Russian came up short in the end as she lost the set in the ensuing tie-break.
The second set was equally hard-fought. Kudermetova led 5-2, but failed to serve out the set and allowed her opponent to make a comeback. However, she managed to clinch the set in the tie-break later on to force a decider. The duo had been on the court for more than two and a half hours by this point.
Haddad Maia seemed tired in the end as the deciding set was completely one-sided. Kudermetova claimed six consecutive games to win the match 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6), 6-1. She has also reached the semifinals in doubles alongside Elise Mertens.
Qinwen Zheng defeated Misaki Doi in the first round, then knocked out top seed Paula Badosa in the second round. She defeated the Spaniard in straight sets for her second win over a top 10 player. The teenager was up against Claire Liu in the quarterfinals.
Zheng snagged a break of serve in the seventh game of the opening set to lead 4-3. This essentially sealed the set in her favor and she soon closed it out to claim it. The second set started with four consecutive breaks of serve.
The duo were quite steady over the next few games, but Liu crumbled under pressure towards the end as she lost serve in the 11th game of the set. Zheng served out the match in the following game to win 6-4, 7-5.
Veronika Kudermetova vs Qinwen Zheng head-to-head
The two have not played against each other on the tour before this, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Veronika Kudermetova vs Qinwen Zheng odds
(All odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Veronika Kudermetova vs Qinwen Zheng prediction
Zheng started her quarterfinal match on a high note, but her level dipped as the match progressed. Her forehand misfired from time to time, accumulating quite a few errors. She overhit her shots by quite a wide margin and will need to find her range once again.
Kudermetova played a pretty decent match as well. She was the better shotmaker and outplayed her opponent in every metric towards the end. However, after spending more than three hours on the court, one wonders if she'll be able to give her best against the teenager.
Zheng's serve and groundstrokes are certainly capable of putting the Russian on the backfoot. Kudermetova, on her part, knows how to handle big hitters like the teenager. She has great hands at the net as well, making skillful volleys with ease thanks to her doubles expertise.
If Kudermetova isn't too gassed from her previous match she should be able to win, otherwise, Zheng is likely to come out on top.
Pick: Qinwen Zheng to win in three sets.