Resurgent Qinwen Zheng takes on defending champion Iga Swiatek in the Indian Wells quarter-final on Thursday, seeking consecutive wins over the Polish superstar.
Zheng defeated the clay court specialist last summer at the Paris Olympics en route to clinching the gold medal and aims to do the same at the BNP Paribas Open to end the two-time winner's hopes of a third title.
Match preview
© Imago
Zheng was backed to return to winning ways at Indian Wells, given Pere Riba's return to her team after undergoing surgery in November, and the Chinese star has found her form again in California.
Having entered the third WTA 1000 event on a three-match losing run, the 22-year-old has secured three wins on the bounce by defeating veteran Victoria Azarenka, Lulu Sun and Marta Kostyuk at this year's tournament to reach the last eight for the first time.
Now 4-2 overall at Indian Wells, Zheng, who had not won back-to-back matches this season before the BNP Paribas Open, has improved to 4-3 in 2025 and aims to notch her fifth victory this year by ousting the defending champion.
The five-time WTA champion tasted success for the first time over Swiatek in their most recent match-up on the clay courts of Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Paris Olympics, and she seeks consecutive triumphs over the in-form Polish superstar.
While success could pit Zheng against Mirra Andreeva, who takes on Elina Svitolina in Thursday's other quarter-final, the Chinese star must first overcome her imminent uphill challenge.
© Imago
The 22-time titlist has been unsuccessful in her attempts to claim a 23rd crown since clinching a fourth French Open title last year, but it has not been for the want of trying.
Although Swiatek has not advanced to any title match at tour level since last year's Roland Garros victory, progressing to four semi-finals, including two this season, highlights the world No. 2's continued consistency.
While Swiatek's three-peat bid in Doha ended in disappointment at the hands of bete noire Jelena Ostapenko, the 23-year-old has put that setback behind her to reel off wins in the Californian desert, where the two-time champion has been in ominous form.
Having lost just six games in three rounds, dropping two each in dominant wins over Caroline Garcia, Dayana Yastremska and Karolina Muchova, to improve to 22-3 overall at the WTA 1000 event, the second seed bids for a 10th consecutive success to make another semi-final in 2025.
Despite a lopsided head-to-head against Thursday's opponent, the defending champion's last meeting with Zheng will still rankle, and only an 11th successive win in the desert and 23rd overall will alleviate the pain of falling in straight sets to China's No. 1 player.
Tournament so far
Qinwen Zheng:
First round: Bye
Second round: vs. Victoria Azarenka 6-3 6-4
Third round: vs. Lulu Sun 6-4 7-5
Round of 16: vs. Marta Kostyuk 6-3 6-2
Iga Swiatek:
First round: Bye
Second round: vs. Caroline Garcia 6-2 6-0
Third round: vs. Dayana Yastremska 6-0 6-2
Round of 16: vs. Karolina Muchova 6-1 6-1
Head To Head
Paris Olympics (2024) - Semi-final: Zheng 6-2 7-5
Dubai (2024) - Quarter-final: Swiatek 6-3 6-2
United Cup (2024) - Quarter-final: Swiatek 6-2 6-3
Cincinnati (2023) - Round of 16: Swiatek 3-6 6-1 6-1
Stuttgart (2023) - Round of 16: Swiatek 6-1 6-4
San Diego (2022) - Round of 16: Swiatek 6-4 4-6 6-1
French Open (2022) - Fourth round: Swiatek 6-7(5) 6-0 6-2
While Swiatek leads this head-to-head 6-1, Zheng has taken the Polish star to three sets in 50% of said wins, including their first meeting at Roland Garros in 2022.
Despite defeating the 22-time WTA champion last summer, the Chinese player has a mixed 10-17 record against top-10 players, notching two wins and falling to three losses in her recent five.
Contrastingly, Swiatek has claimed four wins from the past five against such opponents (47-20 overall), with the 23-year-old's only defeat against Coco Gauff at this season's United Cup.
We say: Swiatek to win in three sets
Despite Zheng's return to form, it is hard to foresee anything other than another Swiatek victory, with the Pole backed to secure a seventh victory in their head-to-head.
Although the second seed should get the job done in two sets, the 22-time WTA champion is not expected to dispatch the Olympic gold medallist, whose powerful groundstrokes and serve could pose difficulties.
While Swiatek should face her sternest test in the desert, she should advance to the semi-finals for a possible Andreeva examination.
