The first round action at the WTA Zhengzhou Open 2019 will continue on Tuesday, September 10 and some of the big names in the world of women’s tennis including Angelique Kerber and Kristina Mladenovic will take to court today. Get the latest Angelique Kerber v Alison Riske & Kristina Mladenovic v Yingying Duan predictions and tips below.
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Angelique Kerber v Alison Riske Preview:
Former world number one Angelique Kerber returns to the tour, after a disappointing first round loss at the US Open, looking to salvage what remains of the season. She has lost her last four matches since Wimbledon and took a wildcard for the Zhengzhou Open, at the start of the Asian swing of the tour.
Kerber is a three-time Grand Slam winner and yet to win a title in 2019. She is seeded fifth this tournament and brings with her a 3-1 head-to-head against the American Alison Riske. Three of these meetings were early in the decade, and Riske won their most recent encounter on the Mallorcan grass in 2018.
Number 36 ranked Alison Riske had dropped out of the top 100 in 2018, and is currently in the midst of a strong season. She got back within the top 100 with a good showing at Shenzhen and then at Dubai earlier in the year.
Her season took off on grass, with a 14-2 record this summer, winning titles at Sorbiton, and ‘s-Hertogenbosch’, as well as being a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon defeating world number one Ash Barty en route.
Riske continued with a decent showing on the US hard courts as well, and defeated grand slam winner Garbine Muguruza in the opener at the US Open. Expect a back-and-forth three-setter, with Kerber eventually turning over the tide in her favor with a hard fought win
Kerber v Riske Tip: Kerber to win in three sets: 10/3 (888Sport)
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Kristina Mladenovic v Yingying Duan Preview:
Kristina (Kiki) Mladenovic is currently ranked just outside the top 50 in the world and is better known for her doubles than singles game. She was ranked within the top 10 of the WTA rankings in 2017, but has since fallen down the rankings. She remains number one in the doubles game, and is a three time major winner, including the French Open earlier this year.
Mladenovic has not maintained any level of consistency in the singles game and despite the noteworthy win from time-to-time against top ranked players, has rarely managed to consolidate. Her US Open campaign got off to a strong start with a win against Angelique Kerber in the opening round, but capitulated soon thereafter.
Her opponent Duan Yingying is currently ranked outside the top 300, but the head-to-head is at 1-1, as both traded victories in 2017.
Chinese Duan has been on the tour for most of the decade and was once ranked just outside the top 50 in the world in singles. A steady decline and indifferent results have seen her being ranked outside the top 200 and now top 300 for a period of time. Her best major result was a third round showing at the 2017 Australian Open.
Similar to Mladenovic, Duan is better known for her doubles game, currently ranked just outside the top 20, and was incidentally a runner-up at the French Open 2019 as well.
Expect the Frenchwoman to come through this encounter in two tough sets, but given the stacked draw, her chances of proceeding much further seem remote.
Mldenovic v Duan Tip: Mladenovic to win 2-0: 1/1 (888Sport)
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