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Who Should Get The WC For 2019 Zhuhai SET 750 ???

Breaking: Rising Star SAISAI Zheng (CH #36) Earns WC For 2019 Zhuhai SET 700!

9K views 100 replies 43 participants last post by  Quebec2014 
#1 · (Edited)
I know Wuhan and Beijing are still to come, but it is never to early to speculate who will get handed that special invitation to compete in this year's Zhuhai SET 750 :angel:

Zhuhai SET 750 WC History & Result
2015: ZHENG Saisai (RR)
2016: ZHANG Shuai (SF)
2017: PENG Shuai (RR)
2018: initially awarded to WANG Qiang (FINA), then reassigned to ZHANG Shuai (RR) after WANG qualified directly

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let's take a look at this year's candidates :cheer:

WANG Qiang - The Defending Finalist
Current Race to Shenzhen: #29
Best Result of 2019: USO GS 2000 QF (430 points)
WTA Titles in 2019: 0
Best Scalp of 2019: #2 BARTY

ZHENG SAISAI - The Premier 470 Queen
Current Race to Shenzhen: #34
Best Result of 2019: San Jose P470 W (470 points)
WTA Titles in 2019: 1
Best Scalp of 2019: #10 SABALENKA

ZHANG Shuai - The Former Semi-Finalist
Current Race to Shenzhen: #36
Best Result of 2019: Wimbledon GS 2000 QF (430 points)
WTA Titles in 2019: 0
Best Scalp of 2019: #11 SEVASTOVA

WANG Yafan - The Other Wang
Current Race to Shenzhen: #55
Best Result of 2019: Acapulco MM 280 W (280 points)
WTA Titles in 2019: 1
Best Scalp of 2019: #5 SVITOLINA

PENG Shuai - The Veteran
Current Race to Shenzhen: #91
Best Result of 2019: USO GS 2000 2R as Q (110 points)
WTA Titles in 2019: 0
Best Scalp of 2019: #12 WANG

ZHU Lin - The Rising Star
Current Race to Shenzhen: #99
Best Result of 2019: Dubai P5 900 2R as Q (90 points)
WTA Titles in 2019: 0
Best Scalp of 2019: #16 MERTENS

SHARAPOVA Maria - The Wild Card Queen
Current Race to Shenzhen: #123
Best Result of 2019: AO GS 2000 R16 (240 points)
WTA Titles in 2019: 0
Best Scalp of 2019: #3 WOZNIACKI

WANG Xiyu - The USO GS 2000 Junior Champion
Current Race to Shenzhen: #141
Best Result of 2019: $0.06M LA BISBAL D'EMPORDA W (100 points)
WTA Titles in 2019: 0
Best Scalp of 2019: #61 PUIG

WANG Xinyu - The Junior #1
Current Race to Shenzhen: #154
Best Result of 2019: 3 $0.025M W (50 points each)
WTA Titles in 2019: 0
Best Scalp of 2019: #146 HAAS
 
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#21 ·
#3 ·
Re: Who Deserves The Wild Card For 2019 Zhuhai SET 750 ???

Good thread, Goat! I was thinking of doing similar, but was going to wait until after the Wuhan/Beijing double in case anyone had a Qiang like run and qualified directly. It'll definitely be a home player I'd have thought, and it will likely depend on the next fortnight and who does best, but I'd still be inclined to give it to Qiang at this stage as she has the 360 final points to defend from last year.
 
#4 ·
Re: Who Deserves The Wild Card For 2019 Zhuhai SET 750 ???

No reason to pick now, but if none do well before the choice is made, probably Qiang because she almost won it last year
 
#8 ·
Re: Who Deserves The Wild Card For 2019 Zhuhai SET 750 ???

Hopefully, they just give the 12th player direct entry and don't give out the WC.
that has NEVER happened in the history of 4 years @ Zhuhai and previously 3 years at Sofia, so obviously won't be the case this year :SNE:
 
#13 ·
Re: Who Deserves The Wild Card For 2019 Zhuhai SET 750 ???

I’m still shocked this tournament/concept has lasted for so long, when initially it was basically just a license that cities could buy to host a glorified tennis exhibition for their star player.

Venus or Sharapova don’t deserve a WC at all here considering the years they have had - unless one of them somehow wins Beijing - since this event technically should be all about rewarding a solid top 20 level year, but you never know with this farce.
 
#15 ·
Re: Who Deserves The Wild Card For 2019 Zhuhai SET 750 ???

I’m still shocked this tournament/concept has lasted for so long, when initially it was basically just a license that cities could buy to host a glorified tennis exhibition for their star player.

Venus or Sharapova don’t deserve a WC at all here considering the years they have had - unless one of them somehow wins Beijing - since this event technically should be all about rewarding a solid top 20 level year, but you never know with this farce.
the good old days when VIP won the title twice :hearts:
 
#14 ·
Re: Who Deserves The Wild Card For 2019 Zhuhai SET 750 ???

obviously it has to be GENIE.

people would be excited to see a former wimbledon finalist.
 
#20 ·
Re: Who Deserves The Wild Card For 2019 Zhuhai SET 750 ???

It's definitely advantage Qiang following the Wuhan draw. You'd have realistically thought it would be between her and Zheng, given the latter has won a premier and is younger than some of her Chinese rivals to differentiate her a bit, but Naomi Osaka and Zheng have both withdrawn from Wuhan, which not only obviously denies SaiSai a chance to gain significant points, it also gives the 12th ranked Qiang a top 8 seeding, and a bye, and her initial draw is kind. Muchova/Bouzkova up first - if she plays Muchova, then it could be a 5th match in 5 days for the Czech if she beats Yafan in the Korean semi final tomorrow, and if it was Marie then she'd be a strong favourite anyway, so a great chance of at least 105 points.
 
#24 ·
Re: Who Deserves The Wild Card For 2019 Zhuhai SET 750 ???



I realise this was posted before her Svitolina defeat, but even if Kuznetsova or equivalent get themselves to the Beijing SF, I really can't see them going for a non Chinese player, IF there is no direct local involvement.

You look at the current top 25 or so, and then you have to think how many of those will actually play. Serena likely won't play YEC (certainly won't play here), so that should push everyone one up place, likewise Marketa is out. Konta skipped it one year and withdrew from Wuhan before the US Open started, so will she head to Asia for one event? Doubtful. Injury concerns for Sakkari and Kontaveit, so the DA cup off of 19, could quite easily become 24 (or worse), and Wang is currently only 150 points off 24th in the race, so a good run in Beijing or a TianJin title and that external WC may become possible (but even then I'd still expect it to go to SaiSai for additional Chinese numbers), but if not, it'll likely be between Qiang and SaiSai.

Does anyone know what is up with Zheng and is she likely to be back for Beiing, as that could be pivotal in a potential Chinese WC race.
 
#26 ·
Re: Who Deserves The Wild Card For 2019 Zhuhai SET 750 ???

Probably someone named Wang.

.
 
#27 ·
Re: Who Deserves The Wild Card For 2019 Zhuhai SET 750 ???

and with her run in Beijing PM 1000, SAISAI has put her name to be at least on equal standing as Q WANG :cheer:
 
#28 ·
Re: Who Deserves The Wild Card For 2019 Zhuhai SET 750 ???

https://twitter.com/Venus_Fan4Ever/status/1177602790421667840

Don't know how legit that account is, but it has said a few times now that it'll be awarded to a non local player this year, which would certainly put the cat among the pigeons.

As for equal standing, SaiSai is still a couple of hundred points behind Qiang in the race, so IMO would need at least a Beijing SF, to trump Qiang's fine USO QF run. Assuming it does go to a home player (and nobody qualifies directly), TianJin could be crucial.
 
#32 ·
Re: Who Deserves The Wild Card For 2019 Zhuhai SET 750 ???

https://twitter.com/Venus_Fan4Ever/status/1177602790421667840

Don't know how legit that account is, but it has said a few times now that it'll be awarded to a non local player this year, which would certainly put the cat among the pigeons.

As for equal standing, SaiSai is still a couple of hundred points behind Qiang in the race, so IMO would need at least a Beijing SF, to trump Qiang's fine USO QF run. Assuming it does go to a home player (and nobody qualifies directly), TianJin could be crucial.
That account lies, lies and lies again, and has been lying for its entire existence. It's the second account of notorious liar Barry Clarke, whose apparent sole purpose in life is to lie to get attention. Sadly, gullible tennis fans who want to believe anything provide that in spades.

The concept of a WC for a tournament designed to reward specific accomplishments remains ridiculous. Other than that I've actually been pleasantly surprised by how well Zhuhai has worked - champions like Kvitova, Venus and Barty have helped - and how, with the depth on tour, it makes more sense and feels more prestigious than it would have in the 90s or 00s where it would have just been a tournament for the Smashnovas and Dechys of the world.

Still think a NextGen YEC would have been better but that couldn't have awarded points.
 
#30 ·
So if it's to a former slam champion who hasn't directly qualified, the bet is Venus, Wozniacki, or Stephen's, right?

My guess is Wozniacki, as she's strung together a few wins more recently than the others and has some career highlights in China, but Venus is probably a bigger draw.

Stephens is ahead of both in the race, but personally I wouldn't waste a wildcard on her ?
 
#37 ·
Re: Who Deserves The Wild Card For 2019 Zhuhai SET 750 ???

So Chinese interest in Beijing ends, and the local race is as follows:

24 Kontaveit 1676
25 Yastremska 1643
------------------------
28 Qiang 1534
35 Zheng 1355
42 Zhang 1216
45 Yafan 1130

With Serena not likely to play either event, Vondrousova out, probably doubts over Konta, Sakkari, Kontaveit, plus anyone else who wants to end their season early, I can see the 19 cut off for direct entry becoming 23 or 24. Looks like all 4 Chinese players in the top 50 are playing Tianjin next week, with 280 points on the line, but only Qiang could pass Yastremska, and she'd need 180 points for a final to pass Kontaveit, and that's also relying on Dayana losing early in Tianjin. Yafan is actually playing a W100 the week after (same week as Luxembourg and Moscow), but that won't really influence things.

I doubt any of them will end the regular season in the top 24 to qualify directly, and it'll probably come down to who has most points, and unless Zheng wins Tianjin, then you'd think it's advantage Qiang.
 
#40 ·
Re: Who Deserves The Wild Card For 2019 Zhuhai SET 750 ???

Bump.

So who does get it then? Qiang, Zheng, or maybe Yafan if she reaches the final / wins the TianJin title?
 
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#42 ·
Re: Who Deserves The Wild Card For 2019 Zhuhai SET 750 ???

Tatiana Golovin :inlove:.
 
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