We've got one pick from the Strasbourg qualifying final today, with partially cloudy skies and temperatures around 17°C making for decent conditions out there. Gibson and Zhang haven't met before, so this one's a bit of a coin flip on paper, but I do have a lean.
WTA Internationaux de Strasbourg Predictions
Talia Gibson vs Shuai Zhang
Head-to-head: First meeting
Gibson is ranked a few spots higher and has been building her clay game steadily over the past year or so. At 58 in the world, she's at a point in her career where qualifying for these International events should feel like a baseline expectation and getting through here would be a nice confidence boost heading into the grass season.
Zhang is no pushover on clay and at 65 in the world the rankings split is close enough that this goes three sets. That said, Gibson's consistency from the baseline, which tends to come out when rallies get extended, tends to show up in longer matches and a third set should suit her well, all things considered.
Prediction: Gibson in 3
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Credit Image: © Michele Eve Sandberg/ZUMA Press Wire