Qinwen Zheng vs Karolina Muchova

Sunday, July 21, 2024

Qinwen Zheng -166 / Karolina Muchova +131 Click Here for the Latest Odds

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Qinwen Zheng and Karolina Muchova clash in the final of the 2024 Palermo Ladies Open. The match is scheduled for Sunday, July 21, 2024. Here's our Qinwen Zheng vs Karolina Muchova prediction.

Qinwen Zheng vs Karolina Muchova Preview

Qinwen Zheng has successfully navigated her way into the Palermo Open final for the second year in a row. The Chinese woman is looking to defend her title. She won her semifinal match against Diane Parry 7-5, 6-4 in an hour and 39 minutes.

In the victory, Zheng tallied three aces to two double faults. She landed only 59% of first serves but won 85% of first-serve points (28/33). She won 61% of second-serve points (14/23). Zheng converted three of her five break points. The World No. 7 has not dropped a set on her run to the title match and will face former Top 10 player Karolina Muchova.

Karolina Muchova is ranked 35th in the WTA rankings. However, her ranking suffered a hit following a lengthy injury absence. Muchova missed out on competing on the WTA Tour since September 2023 and only returned to action in late June this year.

She was at the height of her powers when a wrist injury struck. But this week, she's shown why she is regarded as one of the craftiest and skillful players on Tour. She routed Romania's Irina Camelia Begu 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinal, with the 27-year-old Czech taking just 74 minutes. In the victory, Muchova hammered four aces and landed 74% of first serves. She won 77% first-serve points (24/31) and 55% second-serve points (6/11).

Qinwen Zheng vs Karolina Muchova Head-To-Head

• Muchova leads Zheng 1-0 in their head-to-head.

• Their solitary previous meeting was on the clay court of Madrid two years ago.

Qinwen Zheng vs Karolina Muchova Prediction

It's a showdown between the top two seeds in the tournament. Zheng is looking to defend her crown and add to her trophy cabinet (she has won two WTA titles). Muchova, for her part, has only lifted one WTA title (2019 Seoul). It hasn't taken the Czech woman to hit the ground running following her comeback from a wrist injury that required surgery. This match will likely have three sets in it, with Muchova's crafty play extracting too many errors from Zheng.