China's Qinwen Zheng will face Anastasia Potapova at the 2024 WTA Dubai tennis tournament in an upcoming match. Zheng made the Australian Open final earlier this season but went out of the R16 in Doha last week. She will be trying to avoid back-to-back exits in the round with a win over Potapova. This will be a round-of-sixteen match in the tournament, one that is known as the 2024 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. My Zheng vs Potapova prediction is that the latter play will hit for her handicappers.
Order of Play: Right-click/Open in the New Tab to check match times: subject to change
Qinwen Zheng vs Anastasia Potapova Head-to-Head Series
The Zheng vs Potapova h2h is 2-1 in favor of the former player. All of their matches have been played in recent seasons, with two in 2023 and one in 2022. Potapova beat Zheng last season in Miami while Zheng previously won at Adelaide. In 2022, Zheng won a match at the US Open against Potapova. For rankings, this is the No. 7 in Zheng against the No. 35 in Potapova.
On short-term form, Zheng's resume does not require much review. She lost in the Australian Open final after a weak draw that helped her get to the final. She was good to close the 2023 season as well, so it's not like she just flicked a light switch on for one tournament. In the first round of Dubai, she beat Nao Hibino two sets to one.
Potapova was quiet for the latter part of the 2023 season. She is in her 5th event of 2024 in Dubai. So far she is 7-4 on the season but she does not have any kind of head-turning result or match-win. At odds of just +175 on her moneyline, bettors should feel a bit disappointed.
The Draw: Right-click/Open in the New Tab for the draw for the 2024 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Zheng vs Potapova Prediction: Potapova +3.5
Zheng has won a lot of matches lately. However, let's count up all the matches that she has won in straight sets.
So far this season, she has played in 13 matches. She has lost at least one set in nine of those matches. Expressed differently, she has only won in straight sets four times. I have to say that I like the game handicap on Potapova better in this one than bets on Zheng. Potapova is at +3.5 and odds of -120 (bet365). Zheng has lost a lot of sets lately by at least one break. If that happens to Potapova's benefit then that +3.5 handicap will look huge.
Potapova vs Zheng prediction: Draw at the 2024 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
The winner of this match will be looking at a likely match against Iga Swiatek. It's not likely that either Potapova or Zheng will slow the World No. 1 down.
Additional reading: All previews for upcoming tennis matches!
