The number 4 seed Elena Rybakina takes on Wang Xinyu in just their second career meeting. This second-round matchup will be a battle between two players struggling to find their feet on clay this season. With the French Open starting in just a few days, both players will look to make a strong run in Strasbourg.
The Kazakh player started this year with decent performances on hard courts. She made a few deep runs with quarter-final and semi-final appearances, but has not managed to reach a final yet. Recently, though, she has struggled with early exits in Miami, Madrid, and Rome. Rybakina’s last match was a 6-2, 6-4 loss at the hands of Bianca Andreescu at the same stage in the Italian Open.
Wang has struggled throughout the year to make any significant impact with just one semi-final appearance at the Singapore Tennis Open. Overall, the clay season has been quite disappointing with early exits in Madrid, Rome, and Parma.
She is coming off a 7-3, 6-2 win against Eva Lys in the round of 64, in which she saved 10 break points to hold her opponent to a conversion rate of just 1/11.
Elena Rybakina and Wang Xinyu have played each other only once, which was at the Jiangxi Open in 2019. That matchup played on a hard court went the way of the number 4 seed, who won by a score of 7-6(4), 6-2.
| Year | Event | Round | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Jiangxi Open | Second Round | Elena Rybakina | 7-6(4), 6-2 |
As far as the comparisons between the two players go, Rybakina has had a better career thus far. Wang Xinyu is yet to win a title at this level on the tour, while Rybakina has 8 to her name. The Chinese 23-year-old’s best ranking to date has been 32, while the Kazakh has reached as high as world number 3 in June 2023.
| Elena Rybakina | Category | Wang Xinyu |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Ranking | 42 |
| 350-152 | Career W-L | 238-167 |
| 19-9 | YTD W-L | 9-11 |
| 8 | Career Titles | 0 |
| 1 | Grand Slams | 0 |
| 0 | YTD Titles | 0 |
With both players struggling to find any sort of momentum on clay this year, this match could be a tough one, but the overall experience and performance should favor Rybakina slightly.
Prediction: Rybakina in straight sets
As per the betting odds, Rybakina is favored to win this contest with her superior level of play. Her overall ability and her superior service game by virtue of which she has won 78.3% of games, make her the favorite over Wang who has won just 22.7% of her return games this year.
Elena Rybakina Win: 2/13
Wang Xinyu Win: 23/5
(According to BetMGM)
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