ORDER OF PLAY
CENTRE COURT
Play begins at 2:30pm
Marie BOUZKOVA (CZE) / Tamara ZIDANSEK (SLO) v Nadiia KICHENOK (UKR) / Sania MIRZA (IND)
ZHANG Shuai (CHN) [4] v Veronika KUDERMETOVA (RUS) [5]
Heather WATSON (GBR) v Elena RYBAKINA (KAZ) [3]
Kirsten FLIPKENS (BEL) / Alison VAN UYTVANCK (BEL) v PENG Shuai (CHN) / ZHANG Shuai (CHN) [2]
MATCH POINTS
Zhang Shuai and Veronika Kudermetova have never previously met on the WTA Tour.
Zhang’s last experience of facing a Russian player was at the 2019 US Open, where she overcame Ekaterina Alexandrova in three sets.
Kudermetova is a perfect 6-0 when playing Chinese players in WTA Tour events, though four of these matches came in qualifying. Nevertheless, she has not dropped a set.
Zhang has never made a WTA Tour final outside of Guangzhou, a tournament she has won on two occasions.
Kudermetova, who received a quarterfinal walkover as Garbiñe Muguruza had to withdraw due to illness, is seeking her first final at this level.
This will also be the first meeting of Heather Watson and Elena Rybakina.
Watson, the WTA World No.101, was the Hobart champion back in 2015. Since then, she has made only two finals, most recently in Tianjin last October.
Watson snapped top seed Elise Merten’s 14-0 record in Hobart with an incredible three-set victory that took over three hours 30 minutes to complete.
Rybakina has made an excellent start to 2020, having reached the final of Shenzhen last week.
The Kazak also required three sets in the semifinal before eventually overcoming wildcard Lizette Cabrera.
