Analysis for Zheng-Hantuchova (WTA Wimbledon)

Head-to-head record 0:1

Defending semifinalist Jie Zheng will face Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in the second round and the Chinese player is a clear favourite for us. Zheng's game is characterized by consistent tennis. Her shots are very well placed and can be quite deep in the court, making Zheng a defensive counterpuncher. Zheng has good foot speed which allows her to keep points in play that normally would be winners. Having played many years in doubles, Zheng is also a comfortable net player. Her backhand is the stronger of her two groundstrokes. Zheng's serve, while not powerful, is consistant allowing Zheng to hit a high number of first serves in. Her main weakness is her inability to hit the strongest shots on the tour. However, with such good placement, she makes up for her weaker shots than the average player on the tour. Her lack of height makes her susceptible to lobs and high bouncing balls, especially on clay. She prefers fast courts and achieved her career best result at Wimbledon 2008, where she gained recognition when she became the first Chinese player ever to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament, defeating World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic en route. Despite only being ranked World No. 133, preventing her from directly qualifying for the Wimbledon singles main draw, Zheng was given a wild card into the main draw and she made it into semis where she lost to two-time Wimbledon champion and former World No. 1 Serena Williams 6-2, 7-6. Hantuchová's game is built around natural timing. She is able to produce "effortless" power from her flowing groundstrokes and possesses a superb down-the-line forehand and backhand. She possesses a heavy serve and has a particularly effective "kick" second serve. Her favourite and most effective construction of a winning point is her flat serve out wide on the Ad-court, followed by a backhand winner down the line. Her volleys are very well-produced and often have the deftest of touch. Due to these attributes she is known as an "All-arounder." A weakness of Hantuchová since she emerged from the juniors was her lack of explosive movement around the court. Her YTD form is just average and she struggled in the first round against junior Robson. We will stay with Zheng in this match. Odds around 1.7 aren´t brilliant but still worth taking.