Nao Hibino vs Diana Shnaider Prediction & Betting Tips - Jiangxi Open

Prediction published on 19/10/2023, 14:10  by Devesh Jaganath in Tennis Predictions

World number 84 Nao Hibino will take on 60th-ranked Diana Shnaider in the quarter-final of the WTA Nanchang Open on Friday. The winner of this match will move on to face either Marie Bouzkova or Camila Osorio in the next round. Hibino will come into this match full of confidence. She began her tournament with a big win over the number one seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in straight sets. That was the first top 25-ranked player she had beaten this year. The Japanese then went on to beat Kimberly Birrell in round two, also in straight sets. Hibino claimed her first WTA title of the year back in July when she had originally been drawn in as a lucky loser. However, she has failed to get past the second round of her next six tournaments ahead of this one. As a result, the 2017 finalist in this competition is the underdog in this match. 

Meanwhile, Diana Shnaider had an excellent run in Ningbo, where she reached the final. Along the way, she overcame Petra Kvitova in round three but was unable to beat Ons Jabeur in the title match. That was her first final match appearance of the year. The Russian failed to fire in Zhengzhou, knocked out in qualifying, and then again in the first round after drawing as the lucky loser. However, she has looked much better here in Nanchang, where she started the competition by beating Lin Zhu in straight sets. Shnaider is now 24-19 for the year and 14-12 on the hard surface. Notably, she does prefer the clay, having played over 70 matches on the dirt in the last two years.