Anett Kontaveit and Zhang Shuai will take on each other in the round of 32 of the 2023 WTA Abu Dhabi Open on February 6.
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If Anett Kontaveit doesn’t get her act together right away, she will fall outside the top 50 by the end of this month. The previous season’s Covid-19 and injuries plagued the former world No. 2, who started 2023 with a 1-3 showing in the Australian swing and only managed to defeat Julia Grabher in Melbourne. The Estonian, who won in St. Petersburg and reached the final in Doha this month last year, hasn’t advanced past the WTA 250 level quarterfinals since April and has lost nine of her last 10 matches against top-50 players. Having lost to Veronika Kudermetova in the first round of the 2021 tournament, she is about to compete in Abu Dhabi for the second time.
As the second seed, Zhang Shuai started defending her title in Lyon last week. However, she was defeated by Maryna Zanevska, who was ranked 93rd, in the second round, 6-2, 6-0. She went 0-2 in Adelaide but defeated Petra Martic, a player who had previously been ranked in the top 15, on the way to her fifth Grand Slam second-week appearance in her career. The Chinese veteran has lost 14 first-round matches at all levels since the beginning of 2022, despite being ranked near her career-best, and she was unable to win a main draw match in the Middle East last year. Given that she made it to the semifinals at the US Open, Cincinnati, and Tokyo, she shouldn’t be taken lightly on hard courts.
| Anett Kontaveit vs Zhang Shuai | Match details |
|---|---|
| Date | February 6, 2023 |
| Surface | Hard courts |
| Tournament | Abu Dhabi Open |
| Stage | Round of 32 |
| Time (India) | 4:30 pm |
| Time (Abu Dhabi) | 3 pm |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Magda Linette | 6-3, 3-6, 4-6 (L) |
| Julia Grabher | 6-2, 6-3 (W) |
| Paula Badosa | 6-4, 6-3 (L) |
| Qinwen Zheng | 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (L) |
| Tereza Martincova | Walkover (L) |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Maryna Zanevska | 6-2, 6-0 (L) |
| Madison Brengle | 6-3, 6-2 (W) |
| Karolina Pliskova | 6-0, 6-4 (L) |
| Katie Volynets | 6-3, 6-2 (W) |
| Petra Martic | 6-3, 6-3 (W) |
3-2 is Anett Kontaveit’s advantage. The Estonian lost their most recent match in Cincinnati in August, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, and their meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2019, 7-6, 6-3. One of only two complete top 20 victories for Zhang Shuai on hard courts in the previous three and a half years was her triumph in Cincinnati.
| Tournament | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 Cincinnati Masters | Zhang Shuai | 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 |
| 2022 Sydney International | Anett Kontaveit | 6-3, 6-3 |
| 2019 Dubai Tennis Championships | Zhang Shuai | 7-6, 6-3 |
| 2018 Wuhan Open | Anett Kontaveit | 4-6, 6-4, 1-6 |
| 2015 ITF Vancouver | Anett Kontaveit | 6-3, 4-6, 1-6 |
Anett Kontaveit and Zhang Shuai will take on each other in the round of 32 of the 2023 WTA Abu Dhabi Open on February 6.
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