“I imply, I attempted to play it cool, however inside I used to be like, ‘Yes! I made it,'” Diana Shnaider said as she achieved her first victory over a top 10 player at the Canadian Open. The 20-year-old defeated the top seed, Coco Gauff, in what was her best career result up until that stage. It has been a breakthrough year for Shnaider, as she has become a talking point in the tennis circuit with some power-packed performances. With an eye on another title in 2024, Shnaider enters the Korea Open high on confidence.
Seeded fourth in the tournament, Shnaider faces Carol Zhao of Canada in the round of 16 after getting a bye in the opening round. She has been handed an easy path in the tournament and would look to take full advantage of it.
Diana Shnaider vs Carol Zhao: Preview
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Apart from her exploits in the American hard-court swing that was capped off with a pre-quarterfinal appearance at the US Open, Diana Shnaider has had a wonderful 2024 season in general. She has already won three titles this year in Hungary, Hamburg, and WTA 125K in Paris. Additionally, she has had a consistent run in other tournaments in 2024. However, Shnaider is hungry for more success this year, and what better opportunity than the WTA Seoul, where she is seeded fourth.
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via Reuters
Paris 2024 Olympics – Tennis – Women’s Singles First Round – Roland-Garros Stadium, Paris, France – July 28, 2024. Diana Shnaider of AIN celebrates after profitable her first-round match towards Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
On the opposite hand, the 29-year-old Carol Zhao is but to win a title in her profession, not to mention this 12 months. She has additionally performed on the ITF circuit together with the WTA Tour this 12 months however has discovered it powerful in many of the tournaments. She hasn’t gone past the quarterfinal stage in any of the tournaments performed this season. Against Shnaider, it could be a tall mountain to climb for Zhao.
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Shnaider vs Zhao: Head-to-head
It’s early days for Diana Shnaider on the tour and Zhao, regardless of being inexperienced, has primarily featured on the ITF circuit. As a outcome, the 2 haven’t crossed paths earlier than, and the WTA Seoul spherical of 16 match would be the first encounter between them. Despite being towards an unfamiliar opponent, Shnaider would be the agency favourite to proceed to the following spherical.
Prediction: Shnaider to dominate the proceedings towards Zhao
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Statistically talking, Zhao stands no probability towards a rampant Diana Shnaider. While Shnaider has climbed to the sixteenth spot within the WTA rankings, Zhao lies outdoors the highest 200, on the 272nd place to be exact. Further, Shnaider’s win-loss file in 2024 stands far superior to her opponent. The Russian star has gained 45 and misplaced 17 matches in 2024, whereas Zhao has misplaced 25 of the 41 matches that she has performed on this season.
Another main downside of Zhao’s sport is her weak serve, one thing which Shnaider will look to take full benefit of. During her first-round win over Back Da-yeon of Korea, the Canadian dedicated as many as 13 double faults. Thus, Shnaider has the percentages stacked in her favor and is anticipated to win the match in straight units. Their match is scheduled for tomorrow on the Center Court.
