China Open 2024: Zhang Shuai vs Magdalena Frech preview, head-to-head, prediction, and pick

Match Details

Fixture: Zhang Shuai vs (23) Magdalena Frech

Date: October 1

Tournament: China Open 2024

Round: Fourth Round (Round of 16)

Venue: National Tennis Center, Beijing, China

Category: WTA 1000

Surface: Hard

Prize Money: $8,955,610

Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN

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Zhang Shuai vs Magdalena Frech preview

Zhang Shuai will look to continue her winning return on home soil when she takes on Magdalena Frech, a player on a winning streak of her own, in the 2024 China Open fourth-round.

Zhang, who ended a record 24-match losing streak in the first round here, has managed to finally turn over a new leaf. It took a happy homecoming, but she now boasts of wins over not only the dogged Greet Minnen, recent title winner McCartney Kessler but also a top-10 player in the form of Emma Navarro.

A changed player from what she had been all season, the Chinese will look to extend her winning run and improve the season's win-loss from its current 3-8.

Frech recently lifted her first Tour-level title at Guadalajara (Image via Getty)

Frech, meanwhile, also finds herself on a seven-match winning streak. She recently lifted her first Tour-level title at Guadalajara with wins over the likes of Caroline Garcia, Olivia Gadecki and Ashlyn Krueger.

Here in Beijing, the Pole has battled her way past Alycia Parks and Diana Shnaider in two three-set marathons to improve her incredible season’s win-loss record to 38-25.

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Zhang Shuai vs Magdalena Frech head-to-head

Zhang and Frech have split their last two meetings, so their current head-to-head stands at a 1-1 deadlock. The Pole won their most recent encounter, which came at last year's French Open, 6-1, 6-1.

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Zhang Shuai vs Magdalena Frech odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games
Zhang Shuai
Magdalena Frech

(Odds will be added once they're available)

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Zhang Shuai vs Magdalena Frech prediction

Zhang had not won any matches this year before coming to Beijing (Image via Getty)

Zhang Shuai’s turnaround in Beijing has been tremendous and it all started with her first-round win over McCartney Kessler. While the groundstrokes were doing a lot of the talking, the win was more mental as she eked out two tiebreaker sets, 7-6(5) and 7-6(1).

That sort of resilience is extraordinary from someone who has lost over 20 matches and had trouble closing out some of these matches despite being in a winning position. The win has helped the Chinese player swing with more freedom, as she bamboozled the likes of Emma Navarro and Green Minnnen. She is hitting the ball powerfully, and that could spell trouble for Magdalena Frech.

The Pole is not the most explosive of players but her current run has shown that power is not everything in tennis. Her tenacity and counterpunching skills have troubled even the best in the world, but she will need to be more proactive against Zhang as the quick conditions will reward big hitting (which is what her opponent is good at).

Frech has played a lot of tennis in recent days and fatigue is also bound to kick in. Her serve has also come under attack, as she has already had to fend off 23 break points in her two matches thus far.

Zhang will be aware of that and will do her best to maintain control from the baseline. Given the way she has played in her matches, her firepower may prove too much for her opponent.

Prediction: Zhang to win in three sets