In what could be a mouth-watering clash, Yulia Putintseva, ranked 33rd in the world, will take on China’s 36th-ranked Zhang Shuai in the first round of the Western & Southern Open 2020 on either Saturday or Sunday, August 22 or 23. This match will be soon scheduled. Get the live streaming options of this Yulia Putintseva v Zhang Shuai match along with its preview, head to head and tips here.
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Yulia Putintseva v Zhang Shuai Head to Head
This will be the third match between Putintseva and Zhang, with the Chinese player having won on both previous occasions. Their first meeting came at the Beijing Open and Zhang was a straight-set winner before Putintseva put up a fight but went down in three sets in their second meeting in the Fed Cup last season.
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Putintseva Hasn’t Had a Deep Run This Season
It’s been a middling sort of a season for Putintseva, as she has strung together a few wins but at the same time failed to push on deeper into any of the tournament she has played in.
It started in Brisbane where as a qualifier she won three matches and even upset Donna Vekic in the first round but then fell to Danielle Collins in the second. A first round loss at Adelaide was followed by a career-best showing at the Australian Open where she reached the third round.
Unfortunately for her, an opening round defeat at St. Petersburg would have set her back again before she ended the pre-pandemic season with a quarterfinal appearance in Dubai. There she managed to stun Elise Mertens in the second round.
On her return, Putintseva participated in the Lexington Open where again, a first round win was followed by a straight-set, second round ouster. So here we are again, as Putintseva looks to build another few wins at the start.
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Shuai a Finalist at Hobart
After a second round exit at her home tournament in Shenzhen, Shuai roared into the final of the Hobart International, gunning for her first WTA title since 2017. A very strong Elena Rybakina, however, had other ideas and stopped her right in her tracks.
Shuai carried over the form into the Australian Open where she shocked former US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the first round. A second round win was followed by meeting the ultimate champion, Sofia Kenin in round three and while the Chinese player fought tooth and nail, she was unable to take a set off her opponent.
She will now be playing in her first match since the Fed Cup of March, having opted not to play in any exhibition tournaments on the way.
Yulia Putintseva v Zhang Shuai Prediction & Tip
Putintseva, because of lesser rust that Shuai, starts off as the bookmaker’s favourite and will be ours too to win this match. Probably a three-setter.
Tip: Putintseva to win: 4/7 (bet365)
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