By Tony Fairbairn
- Qinwen Zheng [6] v Donna Vekic [13]
- H2H: Tied at 1-1
PARIS, FRANCE – Qinwen Zheng will battle Donna Vekic in a historic gold medal match as both players have made history for China and Croatia respectively at the Olympics.
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Qinwen Zheng [6] v Donna Vekic [13] H2H & Match Fundamentals
A stunning semi-final win for Qinwen Zheng after she knocked out world number one and bronze medallist at this year’s Olympics Iga Swiatek. Now the Australian Open finalist is the first medallist for China at the Olympics in their history and is aiming to claim gold in Paris. Standing in Zheng’s way is Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic who has also made history for her country as she has beaten Coco Gauff and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on her way to the gold medal match.
| Qinwen Zheng [6] v Donna Vekic [13] | H2H: Tied at 1-1 |
| Olympic Games 2024 | Paris, France |
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Both players have survived big scares and beaten the world’s top two players to earn their spot in the gold medal match.
Qinwen Zheng [6] route to the final
R1: Sara Errani 6-0 6-0
R2: Arantxa Rus 6-2 6-4
R3: Emma Navarro [11] 6-7(7) 7-6(4) 6-1
QF: Angelique Kerber 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(6)
SF: Iga Swiatek [1] 6-2 7-5
Donna Vekic [13] route to the final
R1: Lucia Bronzetti 6-2 7-5
R2: Bianca Andreescu 6-3 6-4
R3: Coco Gauff [2] 7-6(7) 6-2
QF: Marta Kostyuk [12] 6-4 2-6 7-6(8)
SF: Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-4 6-0
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2024)
| H2H: | Qinwen Zheng (WR 7) | Donna Vekic (WR 21) |
| Tournament Previous Best | N/A | R3 (2021) |
| 1st Serve Return Points Won % | 35.1 | 36.8 |
| Return Points Won % | 42.9 | 43.9 |
| Break Point Conversion % | 49.7 | 42.9 |
| Break Point Saved % | 57.7 | 53.4 |
| Total Points Won % | 52 | 51.1 |
Zheng has been the more efficient on break point opportunities while Vekic has been the more consistent returner heading into this gold medal match.
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Playing Styles and Prediction
After a difficult run of form after reaching the Australian Open final, Zheng has finally solidified herself as one of the best in the world as she is now into the gold medal match.
Zheng will look to back up her win over Swiatek as she looks for a historic gold medal for China.
Standing in Zheng’s way is Vekic who has continued her form from Wimbledon and has now guaranteed herself a medal.
Incredible wins over Gauff and Marta Kostyuk have highlighted how much the Croatian has improved and will now aim to secure the biggest title of her career so far.
Zheng will aim to mix up the pace of the rallies as she will look to make Vekic overcommit on her shots.
Meanwhile the Croatian will need to be dominant on serve as Vekic looks to pin Zheng behind the baseline by using her forehand.
This match will be the biggest match of both players career’s with so much history on the line for their countries.
Zheng will start out as favourite given her win over Swiatek but this is an even match given how much Vekic has improved under pressure recently.
Prediction: Zheng in three sets.
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