Lesia Tsurenko (Image Credit: Western & Southern Open - Twitter)
The in-form Lin Zhu faces Ukrainian qualifier Lesia Tsurenko in the round of 128 of the 2023 Indian Wells on Wednesday.
The Chinese star had a promising start to the season as she reached the quarterfinals in the ASB Classic. She lost to eventual champion Coco Gauff. In Hobart though, her campaign ended in the first round following a loss to Sofia Kenin. In the Australian Open, Zhu made it to the fourth round for the first time in a major. She won the biggest title of her career in the subsequent Thailand Open with a win against Lesia Tsurenko in the final.
The 29-year-old did not have a memorable campaign in the Merida Open as she lost to Caty McNally in the first round. However, Zhu came back strongly in Monterrey and made it to the semis where she lost to Donna Vekic.
The 33-year-old has shown a lot of fight this season. She began with a semi-final run in an ITF event in Australia in January. In the Australian Open, she made it to the first round after winning three rounds of qualifying. Her run, unfortunately, ended in the first round with a loss to Karolina Muchova. In the Thailand Open, Tsurenko progressed to the main draw from the qualifiers and went on to finish runner-up.
Tsurenko’s last two campaigns ended on unfortunate notes. In the Merida Open and the Monterrey Open, Tsurenko progressed from the qualifiers into the main draw. However, she retired during her first-round matches on both occasions.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 1-1. Zhu won their most recent meeting in the 2023 Thailand Open final last month in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.
Prediction: Lin Zhu to win in three sets.
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