Liudmila Samsonova vs Qinwen Zheng Tips

Qinwen Zheng won the Olympic gold here at Roland Garros and is playing well again this week. This won't be easy, but she should be too strong for Liudmila Samsonova.

On paper, Zheng ??' the world number 7 ??' is the favourite to win and reach the quarterfinals. However, Samsonova has won three of their five previous encounters, including a straight-sets victory in their most recent match. This gives the Russian a psychological edge heading into today's clash. Last month, Samsonova also reached the final of the Strasbourg tournament on clay, further boosting her confidence.

Zheng has looked really good recently and had some thumping victories. So if she gets off to a decent start, I cannot see Liudmila picking up a set.

Samsonova takes on Zheng in the Round of 16 at Roland Garros. Although Samsonova is ranked lower than Zheng, she leads 3-2 in their head-to-head meetings. Last year, both players were eliminated in the third round of the French Open. Zheng’s most recent loss was a 2-1 defeat to Coco Gauff. I’m predicting a 2-1 win for Samsonova.

Zheng comes here after she won the first set in 7 of her last 10 matches in all competitions (all on clay). Samsonova comes here after she won the first set in 8 of her last 10 matches (all on clay). Samsonova won the first set in all of the last 4 mutual matches. At these odds, I will take Samsonova to win the first set.