One of the best International tournaments on the tour, the 2019 #ShenzhenOpen will host yet another world-class draw. Top seed Aryna Sabalenka will have to be wary of some players in her path to the title, while five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova received an extremely tough draw.
First Quarter: Sabalenka, Sharapova receive tricky starts
Top seed and world number 12 #ArynaSabalenka will start the new season against the dangerous #TatjanaMaria, whose game has been a bother for many top players in the past. Her second-round opponent would either be fellow hard-hitting #EkaterinaAlexandrova or #DalilaJakupovic, who is one of the most improved players on the tour. Sabalenka should get through comfortably but she needs to avoid one of her bad days at the office.
Wildcard #WangXinyu will open her Shenzhen campaign against a qualifier, but her second round opponent could be the biggest match of her career. Entering with a Protected Ranking, #TimeaBacsinszky goes up against fifth seed #MariaSharapova, who reached the semifinal in Shenzhen during her debut this year. Sharapova is at risk of losing her seeded position in Melbourne if she suffers an early exit here.
Prediction: Sabalenka d. Sharapova
Second Quarter: Zhang, Peng leads home charge
Fourth seed #JelenaOstapenko is the highest-ranked player in the second quarter. She will face a qualifier in the opening round but her second round opponent would be tricky. The Latvian goes up against either the home favourite and former top-15 player #PengShuai, or her first-round conquerer this year, #KristynaPliskova.
#WangYafan, one of the four Chinese players who received a direct entry into the main draw, will look to ride on the support from her home fans against #AnnaKarolinaSchmiedlova in the first round. Seventh seed #ZhangShuai got herself a dangerous draw as she will need to overcome the tough challenge from the hard-hitting #OnsJabeur in her first match of the new season.
Prediction: Peng d. Jabeur
Third Quarter: Wang gets a favourable draw
Sixth seed #ZhengSaisai will face the dangerous #PaulineParmentier, who won two WTA titles in 2018, in the opening round. Her path does not get easier as #SoranaCirstea potentially awaits in the next match. However, the Romanian would have to defeat #MagdaLinette before earning the chance to mount a deep run although her chances are not fancied due to her poor form.
#EvgeniyaRodina and #ZarinaDiyas will battle it out in the opening round while third seed #WangQiang, who stunned the world during the Asian swing this year, will go up against the queen of Shenzhen, two-time finalist #AlisonRiske. It is a difficult first-round encounter for Wang, who looks to exact revenge for her loss at the exact same stage last year.
Prediction: Zheng d. Riske
Fourth Quarter: Garcia looks to make her Shenzhen debut
Eighth seed #AnastasiaPavlyuchenkova, making her Shenzhen debut, will open against fellow hard-hitter #AnaBogdan to start the new season. The Russian might have to defeat two Romanians to reach the last eight, with #IrinaCameliaBegu potentially waiting in the second round although she will first have to get past a qualifier.
Wildcard and former world number two #VeraZvonareva faces #LuksikaKumkhum in an interesting first-round clash and the winner will get the opportunity to face second seed #CarolineGarcia, who opted to start her season in Shenzhen for the first time in her career.
Prediction: Pavlyuchenkova d. Garcia
Semifinal Predictions: Sabalenka d. Peng, Pavlyuchenkova d. Zheng
Final Prediction: Sabalenka d. Pavlyuchenkova
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