ORDER OF PLAY
CENTER COURT (starts 11:00 am)
[LL] WANG Xinyu (CHN) vs [5] ZHANG Shuai (CHN)
PENG Shuai (CHN) vs [Q] YOU Xiaodi (CHN)
[7] ZHENG Saisai (CHN) vs [WC] DUAN Ying-Ying (CHN)
[Q] Arina RODIONOVA (AUS) vs [2] WANG Qiang (CHN)
COURT 1 (starts 11:00 am)
[8] Magda LINETTE (POL) vs Christina MCHALE (USA)
[Q] WANG Xiyu (CHN) vs Kristie AHN (USA)
ZHU Lin (CHN) vs [3] Dayana YASTREMSKA (UKR)
After suitable rest - Shuko AOYAMA (JPN) / Ena SHIBAHARA (JPN) vs [2] Samantha STOSUR (AUS) / ZHANG Shuai (CHN)
COURT 2 (starts 11:00 am)
[Q] Kurumi NARA (JPN) vs Harriet DART (GBR)
Ons JABEUR (TUN) vs Jennifer BRADY (USA)
Veronika KUDERMETOVA (RUS) vs Ajla TOMLJANOVIC (AUS)
Sofia SHAPATAVA (GEO) / Emily WEBLY-SMITH (GBR) vs WANG Yafan (CHN) / YANG Zhaoxuan (CHN)
MATCH POINTS
No.7 seed Zheng Saisai comes into Tianjin looking to improve on her China Open success. Last week, Zheng advanced to the third round of Beijing for the first time, marking China’s National Day holiday with one of the biggest wins of her career over Sloane Stephens, World No.12. It was her second Top 20 win of the year, after taking down No.10 Aryna Sabalenka to claim the trophy in San Jose earlier in the season.
Read more: 'It's such a privilege' - Peterson upsets Venus in Tianjin first round
Zheng will face her regular doubles partner, wildcard Duan Ying-Ying, in her Tianjin opening round match. It’ll be already the second time the pair face off in singles during this Asian Swing - Zheng claimed victory in their last meeting, edging 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-1 in Guangzhou.
Dayana Yastremska, the No.3 seed, will take on Zhu Lin in the first round. She comes into the tournament with plenty of momentum after reaching the final in doubles at the China Open with partner Jelena Ostapenko. In singles, Yastremska has yet to advance past a R32 since the US Open.
Read more: Defending champ Garcia bounces back to beat Potapova in Tianjin
Meanwhile, No.2 seed Wang Qiang is also looking to win back-to-back matches for the first time since reaching US Open quarterfinal, her best Grand Slam result of her career.
Although she owns a 1-2 win-loss record in Tianjin - having last played here in 2015 - Wang is always a force to be reckoned with on home soil. Last year, Wang racked up a string of career wins across various Chinese tournaments, including two WTA titles at Nanchang and Guangzhou, runner-up at Hong Kong and Zhuhai, and semifinals at Wuhan and Beijing.
Also in action, No.5 seed Zhang Shuai has already booked her trip to the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, qualifying in the doubles competition with partner Samantha Stosur. They’ll be making their team debut after a standout season including their first Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open and final at Miami.
In Tianjin, Zhang will face lucky loser Wang Xinyu in the first round in singles. She’ll be back in action later in the day for doubles after suitable rest, pairing with Stosur to take on the all-Japanese duo of Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara.
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