US Open 2022: Jelena Ostapenko vs Qinwen Zheng preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (16) Jelena Ostapenko vs Qinwen Zheng
Date: August 30, 2022
Tournament: US Open 2022
Round: First round (Round of 128)
Venue: New York, United States
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Hardcourt
Prize money: $60,102,000
Live telecast: USA - ESPN & ESPN2 | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Sony Liv, Sony Ten & Sony Six
Jelena Ostapenko vs Qinwen Zheng preview
World No. 16 Jelena Ostapenko will square off against Qinwen Zheng in the first round of the US Open on Tuesday.
Ostapenko has had a satisfactory season so far. The Latvian has divided her time between contesting singles and doubles and has found some good results on both fronts.
The 2017 French Open champion’s first significant result came at the St. Petersburg Open, where she advanced to the semifinals but was dismissed by Anett Kontaveit. She bettered her outcome the following week by lifting her first title of the season at the Dubai Open, scoring impressive victories over Sofia Kenin, Iga Swiatek, Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep and Veronika Kudermetova.
The UAE Embassy in Riga sends the warmest congratulations to Mrs Alona Ostapenko, the number one player of Latvian women's tennis on winning the Dubai "WTA 500" series. https://t.co/wvIlqW4nFo
The 25-year-old further made the semifinals of the Qatar Open where she again faced defeat at the hands of Kontaveit. She then incurred numerous preliminary round exits before reaching her second final of the year at the Eastbourne International, where she lost to Kvitova.
Ostapenko has amassed 25 wins and 14 losses. Her best appearances at the US Open have been in 2017, 2018 and 2019 when she reached the third round. The former World No. 5 will be entering Flushing Meadows on the back of a second-round exit at the Cincinnati Open.
Zheng, meanwhile, has made quite the splash this year. The 19-year-old, who has a 30-14 win-loss record this season, started her year on an excellent note by making her first WTA semifinals at the Melbourne Summer Series 1 but was downed by Simona Halep. She made her Grand Slam debut at the 2022 Australian Open but couldn’t go past the second round.
She then made her mark at the French Open, beating the likes of Halep and Alize Cornet to reach the fourth round, where she lost to World No. 1 and eventual champion Iga Swiatek. Immediately after, Zheng won her maiden Challenger-level title in Valencia.
Most recently, Zheng progressed to the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open where she was halted by Karolina Pliskova. She will make her US Open debut this year.
Qinwen Zheng moves into the quarter-finals with a 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 win over 2019 champion 
Bianca Andreescu @Bandreescu_ 
🇨🇳 Qinwen Zheng moves into the quarter-finals with a 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 win over 2019 champion 🇨🇦 Bianca Andreescu @Bandreescu_
#NBO22 | #OBN22 https://t.co/TfxZetAmpb
Jelena Ostapenko vs Qinwen Zheng head-to-head
Ostapenko and Zheng will meet for the first time at the US Open and their head-to-head record is 0-0.
Jelena Ostapenko vs Qinwen Zheng odds
(All odds sourced from bet365)
Jelena Ostapenko vs Qinwen Zheng prediction
The Latvian engages in a risky baseline game. She is known to have an offensive playing style and hits winners all over the court. Ostapenko likes to finish her points off quickly and avoid prolonged rallies.
Similarly, Zheng prefers to play fast and aggressive on the hardcourts. She, like Ostapenko, struggles with patience at looks to keep the rallies short.
The duo will likely engage in high-intensity, fast-paced play at Flushing Meadows. It is anybody’s game and the outcome will be highly dependent on the management of unforced errors. Although Ostapenko is far more experienced of the two, given Zheng’s recent wins, the possibility of an upset cannot be overlooked.
Pick: Zheng to win in three sets.