Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai takes on Russian qualifier Ekaterina Reyngold in the round of 16 of the Open de Limoges on Wednesday.
The top seed might have won the doubles event in the WTA Angers Arena Loire Open parterning with Alycia Parks but her campaign in the singles event ended in the round of 32 at the hands of her doubles partner.
The 33-year-old did not have a great start to her campaign in Limoges. Shuai lost the first set of her first-round encounter against Jessika Ponchet. The two-time Grand Slam champion in doubles managed to bounce back strongly as is expected from an experienced campaigner like her. In the end, Shuai won the match 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.
The 21-year-old made her WTA main-draw debut at the 2022 Morocco Open. Reyngold has fared better in the doubles events on the ITF circuit compared to the singles events. She won her only ITF singles title in her first tournament of 2022 in India.
Reyngold defeated France’s Emeline Dartron in the qualifiers to get to the main draw in Limoges. In the round of 32, Reyngold outplayed another Frenchwoman Marine Partaud in straight sets 6-0, 6-2. The former had a healthy win percentage of 76 on the first serve. She will have to play her best game to get past Shuai in the second round.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0 as Zhang Shuai and Ekaterina Reyngold have never faced each other as yet.
Prediction: Zhang Shuai to win in straight sets.
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