Ana Konjuh vs Shuai Zhang Prediction & Betting Tips - Stanford, USA

Prediction published on 05/08/2021, 12:59  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 05/08/2021 at 13:59 in Tennis Predictions

It's another unpredictable women's singles tournament in San Jose. This last eight match at the Silicon Valley Classic was supposed to be between two seeds. Instead, we have Ana Konjuh taking on Zhang Shuai, so an unseeded player will definitely be in the semi-finals. Konjuh is the world number 116 but four years ago was 20th before a series of injuries hampered her career. In the live rankings, Konjuh is up to 100  (she began the year ranked 476th due to her time on the sidelines) and will move into the top 90 with a win in this match. Her best performances this year have included getting to the last 16 of the Miami Masters with wins over Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek. That was followed by a run to the last eight of a clay court tournament in Istanbul. May saw her lose in the final of the Serbia Ladies Trophy when having to retire against Paula Badosa. Two matches  had to be won to get into the main draw of this tournament. In round one, Konjuh had to go to three sets to beat Marie Bouzkova in round one and then she knocked out the ninth seeded Alison Riske for the loss of just five games. Konjuh has won both of her previous matches against her Zhang Shuai but they haven't had a match for four years.

Zhang Shuai is the world number 51 and a place higher in the live rankings. It wasn't a great first half of the year for the Chinese player. None of her first seven matches of 2021 were won. Form picked up when the grass court season began with a run to the final in Nottingham where she was beaten by Johanna Konta. That followed a semi-final on clay in Palermo. This week has seen her beat Emma Radcanu and third seeded Madison Keys without a set being lost. It was tight in the second round though with her beating Keys 7-5 7-6. Go for over 21.5 games to be played in this match.