Lin Zhu (Twitter)
The No. 6 seed Lin Zhi will lock horns with the world No. 79 Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the semifinals in Abierto Tampico 2022 on Friday.
The Chinese star came into the tournament after being ousted in the second round of the Guadalajara Open by Daria Kasatkina in straight sets. At the Abierto Tampico, Zhu has used all her experience to storm into the semifinals.
In the round of 32, Zhu went past Julia Grabher in an interesting three-set affair. After winning the first set, the 28-year-old allowed her opponent to crawl back into the match. The match went into the decisive third set. Zhu produced a scintillating display in the third set and bageled her opponent to eventually win the match 6-4, 3-6, 6-0. In the round of 16, Zhu’s near-perfect showing didn’t give her opponent Varvara Gracheva a chance. The world No. 62 won the match 6-1, 6-2 in quick time. In the quarterfinals, Zhu got the better of the doubles world No. 1 Katerina Siniakova in straight sets 6-4, 7-5 with an impressive performance.
The Italian tennis pro progressed from the qualifiers and won her first-round match in the main draw of the Guadalajara Open Anastasia Potapova. Her run ended in the following round following a loss to Coco Gauff.
At the Abierto Tampico, Cocciaretto comprehensively defeated her first-round opponent Carol Zhao in straight sets 6-0, 6-3. In the round of 16, the 21-year-old came back from a set down to defeat the second seed Marie Bouzkova 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. Cocciaretto faced the seventh seed – Camila Osorio in the quarterfinals. The former once again showed her grit and determination as she won the second and third sets to make the semis. The match ended 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 in favor of the Italian.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 1-0 in favor of Cocciaretto. She defeated Zhu in three sets in Melbourne in 2021.
Prediction: Lin Zhu to win in three sets.
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