2021 Wimbledon Championships First Round – Karolina Muchova vs Shuai Zhang Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
Where is Karolina Muchova vs Shuai Zhang taking place? Karolina Muchova vs Shuai Zhang will take place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon, England
When is Karolina Muchova vs Shuai Zhang on and what time does it start? Karolina Muchova vs Shuai Zhang will take place on Wednesday 30th June, 2021 – not before TBC (UK) / TBC (US EST)
What surface is Karolina Muchova vs Shuai Zhang being played on? Karolina Muchova vs Shuai Zhang will be played on an outdoor grass court
Where can I get tickets for Karolina Muchova vs Shuai Zhang? Visit this link for the latest ticket information for Karolina Muchova vs Shuai Zhang
What channel is Karolina Muchova vs Shuai Zhang on? Coverage of Wimbledon is shared between BBC and Eurosport
Where can I stream Karolina Muchova vs Shuai Zhang? If televised on BBC, this match can be streamed live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website. If the match is televised on Eurosport, subscribers can stream the match live on Eurosport Player
THE LOWDOWN
KAROLINA MUCHOVA
World number 22 Karolina Muchova looked to be coming into some serious form earlier this season when she beat world number one Ash Barty in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. Her run in Melbourne was stopped by Jennifer Brady but wins over Elise Mertens, Karolina Pliskova and Jelena Ostapenko were mightily impressive. The 24-year-old is a fierce competitor and well capable on going on a deep run once again here having made the quarter-finals in 2019. Muchova has one WTA title to her name so far, winning the Seoul Open in 2019.
SHUAI ZHANG
World number 26 Shuai Zhang recently reached the Nottingham Open finals on grass before losing to Johanna Konta. The Chinese number one has two WTA titles to her name, both won at the Guangzhou Open in 2017 and 2013. 32-year-old Zhang is a tough competitor at Grand Slams having reached the quarter-finals of both the Australian Open and most recently Wimbledon in 2019. Zhang won the 2019 Australian Open Women’s Doubles title alongside Sam Stosur.
THE PREDICTION
Shuai Zhang is a perennially underestimated player on tour with a clear penchant for the grass after her run to the Nottingham Open final two weeks ago. The Chinese number one is all angles and that could be a really effective way to break down Karolina Muchova’s more powerful game. The Czech looked set to storm through the field last time she came to SW19 but Elina Svitolina got in her way at the quarter-final stage. To call Zhang a potential banana skin would do the world number 26’s chances a disservice but in so many of Muchova’s matches the result will be on her racket. Zhang is wholly unpredictable and Muchova not much better so the wisest option here is to take the Czech to win at least a set here and leave the winner up to chance.
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