Serbia’s Nina Stojanovic will have her task cut out when she faced the top seed, Zhang Shuai, in the round of 32 of the WTA Andorra Open.
It has been a memorable year for the Chinese veteran. She entered the Lyon Open as the eighth seed and went on to win the title by defeating Dayana Yastremska. This was Shuai’s first title since 2017 and third overall. Her results in doubles events were much better this year. She managed to reach the final at Wimbledon, partnering with Elise Mertens. Shuai also reached world No. 2 in doubles rankings, on 11 July 2022.
Shuai became the oldest woman to reach the fourth round at the US Open in the singles event. She lost to Coco Gauff in what was a riveting match. Shuai most recently played in a WTA 125 event in Midland, USA, but the top seed was ousted in the first round by Nao Hibino.
The 26-year-old is on her comeback trail. She won an ITF 25k event in Egypt earlier in November by defeating Tatiana Prozorova in the final in three sets.
Currently ranked 402 in the WTA world rankings, the Serbian athlete will have to bring his A-game to the fore to have a chance against the Chinese veteran. Stojanovic will take confidence from the fact that she has beaten Shuai in the past.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 1-0 in favor of Nina Stojanovic. In 2016, she defeated Shuai in Anning in straight sets.
Prediction: Zhang Shuai to win in straight sets.
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