MATCH POINTS

No.2 seed and last year's winner Aryna Sabalenka will bid to continue the hot streak with which she closed out 2019, winning 10 of her last 11 matches of the season and lifting trophies in Wuhan and Zhuhai. The Belarusian is also looking to continue the 100% success rate as defending champion that she began in Wuhan. Opponent Margarita Gasparyan will be bidding for her fourth career Top 20 win, and first since defeating Elina Svitolina in the first round of Birmingham last year.

No.4 seed Wang Qiang will seek to snap a three-match losing streak in Shenzhen against Ons Jabeur. The Chinese No.1 reached back-to-back quarterfinals here in 2016 and 2017, but followed those up with first-round losses in 2018 and 2019, both to Alison Riske. Wang won her only previous encounter with Jabeur 6-3, 6-1 in the second round of Dubai 2017.

2014 runner-up Peng Shuai will take on compatriot Zhu Lin in an all-Chinese derby, having won three of their four previous meetings - including both times at WTA level, in the 2017 and 2019 Nanchang quarterfinals. However, Zhu took their most recent meeting in last year's Shenzhen ITF W100 final after Peng retired trailing 3-6, 3-1, a result that netted Zhu her biggest title to date and continued what would eventually be a 14-match winning streak at ITF level to close out 2019 and open 2020 - only ended last week in the Hong Kong ITF W25 final by Zarina Diyas.

Former World No.45 Anna-Lena Friedsam's comeback from a shoulder injury has seen the German rise from World No.739 last January to her current World No.145, partly thanks to two WTA quarterfinals last year in Nurnberg and Palermo. Friedsam is 2-0 against last year's Brisbane runner-up Aliaksandra Sasnovich, having defeated the Belarusian 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in the 2012 Astana ITF W10 semifinals and 6-3, 6-4 in the 2015 Ilkley ITF W50 first round.

Wildcard Wang Xinyu, who turned heads when she took a set lead over Maria Sharapova here last year before succumbing to injury, will bid for her first Top 100 victory against No.6 seed Garbiñe Muguruza. The 18-year-old has risen form World No.326 in May to her current World No.150. Former World No.1 Muguruza, meanwhile, is seeking to rebound from a slump that saw her lose seven of her last eight matches of the 2019 season following her run to the third round of Roland Garros.

ORDER OF PLAY (all courts start 11am)

CENTRE COURT
[Q] Margarita GASPARYAN (RUS) vs [2] Aryna SABALENKA (BLR)
[WC] WANG Xinyu (CHN) vs [6] Garbiñe MUGURUZA (ESP)
Not before 2pm
[4] WANG Qiang (CHN) vs Ons JABEUR (TUN)
Cornelia LISTER (SWE) / Sabrina SANTAMARIA (USA) vs [WC] MA Shuyue (CHN) / YUAN Yue (CHN)

COURT 1
[7] Elena RYBAKINA (KAZ) vs ZHENG Saisai (CHN)
Kristyna PLISKOVA (CZE) vs [Q] Irina-Camelia BEGU (ROU)
PENG Shuai (CHN) vs ZHU Lin (CHN)
Anna-Lena FRIEDSAM (GER) / Margarita GASPARYAN (RUS) vs [2] Barbora KREJCIKOVA (CZE) / Katerina SINIAKOVA (CZE)

COURT 2
Shelby ROGERS (USA) vs [Q] Nicole GIBBS (USA)
Aliaksandra SASNOVICH (BLR) vs [Q] Anna-Lena FRIEDSAM (GER)
Not before 2pm
[1] Elise MERTENS (BEL) / Aryna SABALENKA (BLR) vs Kateryna BONDARENKO (UKR) / Lidziya MAROZAVA (BLR)
Ekaterina ALEXANDROVA (RUS) / Oksana KALASHNIKOVA (GEO) vs Misaki DOI (JPN) / Monica NICULESCU (ROU)