Australian Open finalist Qinwen Zheng will begin her French Open run on Tuesday morning, taking on home favourite Alize Cornet in the opening match on Philippe Chatrier. It could be Cornet’s last match ever with the Frenchwoman announcing she would retire after this tournament.
Despite her top 8 ranking, Zheng hasn’t really shown a great deal to suggest she can hang with the top players as of now. A Rome quarter final was the highlight of her clay season, with Coco Gauff seeing her off fairly comfortably there with a 7-6 6-1. Getting used to her higher stature is something that needed to be done, that she admitted she struggled with. “After Australia, in the practice I was little bit not so focus(ed) in some stages” she said. “Then I come back with myself, overconfident. I have some fight with the coach, some fight with my team. But after couple loss, I start to say, ‘Well, maybe time to change my mentality again because the things not going my way. There’s something I’m thinking wrong or doing wrong.”
With a losing record on the year and often having to drop to WTA 125 level, it does feel like it’s time for Cornet. She is 0-3 on clay at WTA level this year but did do well in Paris and Saint Malo 125s, making the quarter final and semi final respectively. The latest of those main tour losses came in Strasbourg against Emma Navarro, who broke Cornet five times in a one sided win.
This would feel like an easy win in favour of Zheng at any other venue but she will have to compete against a crowd who will be looking to drag a home favourite over the line for one last hurrah. It still should be as long as she maintains her composure with the Chinese star likely to be hitting too big for Cornet.
Prediction – Qinwen Zheng in straight sets
