Damien Kayat takes a look at selected quarter-final matches from the WTA’s China Open taking place this week.
Anastasija Sevatsova 9/10 | Dominika Cubulkova 8/10
This promises to be an extremely tough encounter between two players capable of aggressive tennis. Sevatsova is enjoying a fairly amazing career revival after actually retiring in 2013. The Latvian started the year with a semi-final run in Brisbane prior to decent- if unremarkable- showings in Qatar and Indian Wells. She then had an excellent semi-final showing on generally unreceptive clay-courts in Charleston. She then managed to cash in in a few events that weren’t adorned by major talent. She reached the Mallorca Open final before capturing victory in the Bucharest Open. She had a decent quarter-final run in the Canadian Open, but little really prepared us for her herculean run at Flushing Meadows. She would go on to lose convincingly to Serena Williams in the semi-finals. She showed slight hangover effects with an opening round loss last week in Wuhan.
Dominika Cibulkova was the 2014 Aussie Open losing finalist and also won the WTA Elite Finals in 2016. She thus has major credentials and is coming off a decent quarter-final showing last week. The eight-time WTA Tour champion started the year with a quarter-final in Sydney and went on to reach the Hungarian Open final. She would then lose four matches in a row- highlighting the oft tempestuous nature of her game- before once again losing a final in Strasbourg. It’s fairly evident that her ultra-aggressive approach has a feast-or-famine component. But powerful showings in the final two Grand Slams of the year seem to indicate that consistency may not be too far away. She reached the quarters in Wimbledon before gracing the final 16 in New York.
This will be their third meeting, with each player victorious on one occasion. Cibulkova won in imperious fashion this year in Sydney, while Sevatsova’s victory came nearly a decade ago. Cibulkova arrives in slightly better form and won their outing so convincingly earlier this year that perhaps 39/20 for Cibulkova to win in straight sets is worth the risk. She also captured the scalp of Sloane Stephens en route to the final, suggesting she must be in fairly decent nick.
Naomi Osaka 2/9 | Shuai Zhang 26/10
Naomi Osaka’s whirlwind season doesn’t seem to be relenting just yet. She seems to have shrugged off the Serena debacle with impeccable grace and is once again in devastating form after trouncing Julia Gorges. The Japanese superstar who doesn’t speak Japanese, Osaka’s dream season really kicked off with that outrageous victory at Indian Wells. She had reached a quarter in Dubai, but that victory in an elite field propelled her to the forefront of women’s tennis. She understandably had a tough clay-court season, unaccustomed to the vagaries of the slower surface at this stage. She reached the semi-finals at Nottingham, highlighting her versatility. But it is for her US Open victory that she will forever be remembered. Or at least it will be the incident that she, unfortunately, will be most remembered for, playing supporting role to Serena William’s hysterical, tearaway lead. She continued that form with a run to the Pan Pacific Final and it looks as if Osaka will have plenty of future opportunities to build a pedigree unblemished by Ms Williams’ shenanigans.
Shuai Zhang pulled off a massive upset in front of her adoring home fans by overcoming a determined Angelique Kerber in the last round. She has had an exceptionally impressive run this far, also accounting for Babos and Elise Mertens in this event. The two-time Guangzhou Open Champion is having a decent period in this traditionally strong post-Grand Slam period. She reached the semi-finals of her beloved Guangzhou Open before making it through to the final 16 in the Wuhan Open. The 2016 Aussie Open quarter-finalist has had a typically low-key season up to now, picking up an additional semi-final appearance in the Prague Open. She has three additional quarter-finals to her name this year though she also boasts the unenviable figure of nine opening round defeats. She will always be a fierce contender in front of her home fans, as evidenced in the way she demolished Kerber 6-0 in that decisive set.
Osaka and Zhang share the head-to-head record 2-2. Zhang won earlier this year in Madrid, though that did come on Osaka’s less favoured surface: clay. Osaka won their two matches in 2017, including a thunderous 2-0 victory at Indian Wells. Osaka has to be the overwhelming favourite but something tells me that Zhang may pick up a set in front of an energized fan-base. Osaka to win in three at 11/4 could provide some value.
