Aryna Sabalenka vs. Zheng Qinwen: Where to watch their Rome quarterfinal, preview and prediction

Last summer, Iga Swiatek was Zheng’s mountaintop. When they met in the semifinals at the Paris Olympics, she was 0-6 against the Pole. But that was Zheng’s day to scale the mountain, and get her first win over her nemesis.

Ten months later, Zheng is staring up at a new summit, known as Sabalenka. She’s 0-6 against the WTA’s No. 1 player as well. Worse, she’s 0-4 since last September, and has won just one set in those four contests—she’s not getting closer. But Zheng can thank Sabalenka for beating her in last year’s Australian Open final; at the last two US Opens; at her home event in Wuhan; and in Miami this spring. If she’s going to move up further and win majors, she’ll have to go through Sabalenka at some point.

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INTERVIEW: Zheng Qinwen receives gifts from Italian fans

For a maximally aggressive player, Zheng does like clay. She won Olympic gold on it, she has won another title on it, and she has reached the quarters in Rome the last two years. But Sabalenka doesn’t have any issue with dirt, either, and her confidence seems to be soaring, as she looks like the favorite to win her first title at Roland Garros.

Will Sabalenka start to feel more pressure now that Swiatek is no longer the clear front-runner in Paris? That might be something Zheng can hope for on Wednesday. Zheng has the baseline weapons to push her around, which we know can frustrate Sabalenka. But when Sabalenka is her normal self, their matches haven’t been all that close. Winner: Sabalenka