The Wuhan Open, the last WTA1000 tournament of 2024, is undergoing the first round of competition. China's first sister, Zheng Qinwen, enjoyed a first-round bye as a seeded player. With Romania's Christian beating Osorio 2-1, Zheng Qinwen's opponent for his net debut was also decided. Judging from the head-to-head records of the two players, Zheng Qinwen temporarily fell behind 1-2.
Zheng and Christian have faced each other three times, Zheng Qinwen only won in the semi-finals of Palermo in '24, when he sent a double fritter sweep, the other two were in the first round of the W25 in Italy in '19 and the second round in Palermo '21. It is worth noting that the previous three meetings between the two sides have been on Italy clay.
As Zheng Qinwen, who is more adept at hard court combat, the venue of the Wuhan tournament is easier to play to her strengths. I believe that as long as Zheng Qinwen plays steadily in this encounter, it should not be a problem to win the debut of the martial arts open! In addition, Zheng's potential opponent in the third round, Mukhova, announced through social media that she would withdraw from the Wuhan Open, but will play last week's Ningbo match.
Mukhova wrote: "Hello everyone. Unfortunately, I can't compete in Wuhan this year. The schedule in Beijing is tough and I still need a little bit of time to fully recover. Looking forward to seeing you all in Ningbo next week! Mukhova's withdrawal is a big positive for Zheng Qinwen to hit the finals.
In the semifinals of the Chinese Open, Zheng Qinwen lost to Mukhova and missed Navarro. According to the draw at the Wuhan Open, Zheng Qinwen is expected to meet Mukhova again in the third round, but when Mukhova withdraws, Zheng's potential opponent will be Fernandes, who has beaten him twice, or Snyder, who has been in good form this season.
The WTA officially announced the championship points as of the end of the China Open, and Zheng Qinwen, who reached the semi-finals, surpassed Collins to move up to eighth and further narrowed the gap with the top seven. Zheng Qinwen now has 3,460 points and Navarro 3,568 points, only 108 points separating the two sides. Wuhan is a WTA1000 tournament with 10 points in the first round, 65 points in the second round, 120 points in the top 16, 215 points in the quarterfinals, 390 points in the semifinals, 650 points for the runner-up and 1,000 points for the champion.
Zheng Qinwen and Navarro both received first-round byes and have scored 65 points. According to the existing points, if Zheng Qinwen wants to surpass Navarro in the Wuhan Open, he needs to go one more round than Navarro. If Navarro is still upset in the second round, Zheng Qinwen will have to reach at least the quarterfinals to overtake; If Navarro is eliminated in the third round or the quarterfinals, Zheng Qinwen will need to reach the semi-finals.
When Mukhova withdraws, it will be less difficult for Zheng Qinwen to advance to the quarterfinals, on the other hand, Navarro's potential opponents in the third round are Maya, Kudermetova and Case, no matter which opponent is a tough battle for Navarro. Now is the critical moment for Zheng Qinwen and Navarro to compete for a place in the finals, and no one will be easily defeated.