Anna Blinkova - Shuai Zhang predictions and free betting tips [08/08/2023]

In the first round of the championship in Montreal on hard court, Russia's Anna Blinkova and China's Shuai Zhang will face each other. My bet is on Blinkova to win with a game handicap of -3.5.

Anna Blinkova

The 24-year-old tennis player Blinkova, ranked 35th in the world, previously fell short in the qualifying rounds for the Washington tournament where she was defeated by Nguyen with scores of 3:6, 2:6. Before that, at Wimbledon, Anna secured victories over Wickmayer with scores of 6:2, 4:6, 6:3 and Begu with scores of 7:5, 6:3, but conceded against Sabalenka with scores of 2:6, 3:6. At the end of June, Anna Blinkova reached the quarterfinals of the Bad Homburg tournament where she defeated Lisicki with scores of 3:6, 6:1, 7:5 and Fernandez with scores of 7:5, 6:2, but subsequently lost to Swiatek with scores of 3:6, 2:6. Earlier, in Berlin, she overcame Blinkova but bowed out to Avanesyan. She demonstrated excellent performance at the French Open, reaching the third round. During the tournament, she defeated Bonaventure with scores of 6:2, 6:0 and Garcia with scores of 4:6, 6:3, 7:5, but then lost to Svitolina with scores of 6:2, 2:6, 5:7. Blinkova was in great form during the Strasbourg tournament – she reached the final fairly easily. In the first round, she defeated Ess with scores of 4:6, 6:0, 6:4, followed by wins against Friedsam with scores of 6:4, 7:6 (13:11), Navarro with scores of 6:4, 6:4, and Davis with scores of 6:2, 6:2. Unfortunately, the final didn't end well for Anna as she lost to Svitolina with scores of 2:6, 3:6. Earlier clay tournaments didn't produce such strong results, and her performances on this court type were considered average. In the Rome tournament, she beat Sheriff but lost to Kalinina in the subsequent match. In Reus, Blinkova secured a single win against Rakhimova but then was defeated by Yastremska.

Shuai Zhang

34-year-old tennis player Zhang, world rankings 45th, suffered a series of defeats, losing 15 previous matches. In the Czech tournament, Shuai was beaten by Yuan with scores of 2:6, 2:6, in Warsaw, she lost to Martincova with scores of 6:7 (3:7), 4:6, and in Budapest, she withdrew in the match against Tot due to mental pressure. Zhang's grass court performances were equally disappointing, with losses to Vekic in Wimbledon with scores of 2:6, 3:6, Dart in Eastbourne with scores of 5:7, 7:6 (7:5), 1:6, Bektas in Birmingham with scores of 4:6, 3:6, and Maria in Nottingham with scores of 1:6, 4:6. Earlier, at the French Open, Zhang also suffered a loss to Ferro with scores of 1:6, 1:6. Her most significant participation in this season was making it to 1/8 finals in Australian Open. In her initial match there, she beat Tig with scores of 6:1, 4:6, 6:0, Martic with scores of 6:3, 6:3, and Volynets with scores of 6:3, 6:2. However, in the following round, Shuai lost to Pliskova with scores of 0:6, 4:6.

Head-to-head

Previously, the players met 3 times, with Zhang leading the head-to-head 2:1.

Match forecast Blinkova - Zhang

Blinkova has shown significant improvement in form and performance. On the other hand, Zhang has been having a rough season, with only 4 victories out of 22 games played. I'm endorsing a win for Blinkova.