Lyon 2022: Dayana Yastremska vs Zhang Shuai preview, head-to-head and prediction

Match Details

Fixture: (8) Zhang Shuai vs (WC) Dayana Yastremska

Date: 7 March 2022

Tournament: Lyon Open

Round: Final

Venue: Lyon, France

Category: WTA 250

Surface: Indoor Hardcourt

Prize money: $235,247

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Zhang Shuai vs Dayana Yastremska preview

Dayana Yastremska has had an incredible run in Lyon

Eighth seed Zhang Shuai takes on Dayana Yastremska in the final of the Lyon Open on Sunday.

The Chinese player had a poor start to 2022, suffering first-round exits at the Melbourne Summer Set 1 and the Sydney International. This was followed by reaching the third round of the Australian Open before losing to Elise Mertens. Zhang suffered an opening-round exit at the St. Petersburg Trophy and was unable to qualify for the Dubai Tennis Championships.

She was able to reach the main draw of the Qatar Open but lost in the first round to Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Zhang entered the Lyon Open as the eighth seed and reached the quarterfinals of the tournament after beating Kristina Mladenovic and Arantxa Rus. She advanced to the semifinals after Vitalia Diatchenko retired during their match. The Chinese beat Caroline Garcia 6-2, 7-5 to reach her first final of 2022.

Yastremska started 2022 poorly as well, failing to qualify for the main draw of the Melbourne Summer Set 1. She did qualify for the main draw of the Adelaide International 2 but lost to Tereza Martincova in the first round. The Ukrainian played Madison Brengle in the first round of the Australian Open but retired in a bizarre scenario with the scoreline reading 6-1, 0-6, 5-0 (RET) in favor of Brengle.

Yastremska qualified for the main draw of the Dubai Tennis Championships and won her first-round match against Irina-Camelia Begu. She then shocked second seed Barbora Krejcikova to book her place in the quarterfinals of the tournament. However, the 21-year-old lost to Marketa Vondrousova in the last eight.

Shortly after fleeing Ukraine with her sister, Yastremska competed at the Lyon Open as a wildcard. She reached the semifinals of the tournament following wins over Ana Bogdan, Cristina Buca and Jasmine Paolini. The 21-year-old then beat second seed Sorana Cirstea in straight sets to book her place in the final.

Zhang Shuai vs Dayana Yastremska head-to-head

Their head-to-head currently stands at 1-1. Sunday's final in Lyon will be the third meeting between the two. Yastremska won their first encounter in 2018 while Zhang beat her in their second match at Wimbledon in 2019.

Zhang Shuai vs Dayana Yastremska prediction

Zhang is yet to drop a set at the Lyon Open but Yastremska cannot be written off as she will be motivated to win. The Ukrainian had to flee from her home country with her younger sister, also a tennis pro. She has been riding a wave of patriotism and the crisis, unfortunate as it is, seems to have bolstered her game.

Zhang will be looking to rely on her solid groundstrokes to put pressure on the Ukrainian. The 33-year-old will also need to keep her serve in check so as to not serve too many double faults.

Yastremska has a strong serve and she will be aiming to serve a number of aces. The 21-year-old's powerful groundstrokes are also capable of giving Zhang a hard time. However, she will also need to keep her power in check to avoid serving double faults and unforced errors.

The match will be tightly contested and could well go down to three sets. Zhang has had a good run, but Yastremska might just edge her out and win her first title of 2022.

Prediction: Yastremska to win in three sets