The Parisian crowd wholeheartedly cheered for Iga Swiatek during her semi-final showdown against Qinwen Zheng. It was the World No. 1’s favored surface, one that won her 4 Grand Slams. Of course she was going to win. But then in a huge upset, the Chinese player against whom she had previously had a perfect 6-0 record toppled her.

Sitting on a spot in the finals, the Chinese history maker is looking to go for gold now, but Donna Vekic stands in her way. The Croatian paved her way by taking down even the most voted contenders like Coco Gauff. Now that both of them envision gold, an intense showdown is anticipated. Here are the odds and picks!

Qinwen Zheng vs Donna Vekic: Preview

The Polish top seed saw her 25-match winning streak on the Paris clay ended by China’s Qinwen Zheng in the Olympics semi-finals. This victory etched her name as the first Asia-born player to reach the singles final at the Olympics. The victory also came out to be special because she had never beaten a top-3 player before.

Zheng arrived in Paris after winning in Palermo and extended her winning streak to 10 matches. She overcame tough challenges against players like Emma Navarro and Angelique Kerber, taking them down in tiebreaks. Zheng has reached six finals in her career so far and has won three of them. The fact that she was seen struggling in high-profile finals, like the one against Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open, was a matter of concern.

Vekic, on the other hand, will become the first Croatian tennis player to win an Olympic medal. She attained this spot after defeating Anna Karolina Schmiedlova with a final scoreline of 6-4, 6-0 in the semifinals. The fact that she did not face any break points in this match adds more confidence to her side.

Currently ranked world No. 21, Vekic played a nearly three-hour match in the quarterfinals in which she saved a match point to beat Marta Kostyuk in three sets (6-4, 2-6, 7-6). Besides that, she won every other round in straight sets. Her recent stats include massive wins over tough competitors like Bianca Andreescu and Coco Gauff. She also made it to the finals in Bad Homburg and a maiden Slam semifinal in London.

Zheng vs Vekic: Head-to-head

Vekic and Qinwen have faced each other twice before, with the score standing 1-1. Both of the matches included a tiebreak and ended up making the score even to 1-1. Vekic won their first meeting in straight sets in Courmayeur in October 2021 when Zheng was 19 years old. Zheng won their second match less than a year ago at the WTA Elite Trophy with a final scoreline of 6-4, 6-7, 6-4. This upcoming match will be their first encounter on clay.

Prediction: Zheng to win in three sets

Drawing a conclusion from all the stats, Zheng is highly likely to secure the biggest win of her career. The Chinese WTA star has a strong advantage on clay which comes with a 68 percent win ratio and two of her three career titles on this surface. She also recently won the Palermo Ladies Open and defeated Swiatek, one of the best clay-court players.

Vekic, on the other hand, has had her own struggles on clay, with only a 46 percent win ratio and no titles on the surface. This will be her first final on clay and she is set to play in an arena where her win-loss record is a modest 10-12.

Zheng’s playing style on clay also suits her well. She hits with power and uses a lot of topspin. On being consistently asked about the immense power in her shots, she said, “A lot of people told me I’m hitting hard, but I just hit for power. My coach put a lot of strategy in my mind, being consistent, be solid, and if you want to hit hard ok but choose the right ball.”

Her powerful serves and forehands blend well with her height to help her with more accuracy. Considering her recent form and massive playing style, Zheng is favored to win the gold medal in three sets.