Qinwen Zheng vs McCartney Kessler Tips, Prediction & Live Stream - Zheng to open Queens campaign with a win

Andrew Hendrie

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Last updated: Thu 12 Jun 2025 01:38

Andrew Hendrie 12 Jun 2025

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Qinwen Zheng vs McCartney Kessler predictions for Thursday's WTA Queens R2
Kessler has lost four of her five previous meetings with top 10 players
Zheng has won eight of her last 10 matches
The match is scheduled to start around 3.00am AEST on Friday June 13

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Qinwen Zheng (Photo by Getty Images)

Qinwen Zheng vs McCartney Kessler Tips, Prediction & Live Stream

Top seed Qinwen Zheng begins her HSBC Championships title quest when she meets McCartney Kessler in the second round at Queen's Club on Thursday.

Qinwen Zheng vs McCartney Kessler Tips, Prediction & Live Stream
Head To Head
Qinwen Zheng Form
McCartney Kessler Form
Live Stream

Zheng enjoyed a solid clay swing, making the semi-finals in Rome and reaching the French Open quarter-finals, going down to World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. However, now the World No. 5 must step foot off her beloved clay and onto the lawns, where she has a poor 3-8 career record. To be fair, Zheng hasn't had much of an opportunity on the surface and her last two Wimbledon appearances ended against Lulu Sun (who went on to make the quarter-finals last year) and former champion Elena Rybakina.

This looks like a great opportunity for Zheng to secure a fourth win on grass and build her confidence on the surface. Kessler has enjoyed a nice rise up the rankings, but all of her good work has come on hardcourt, with five of her six tour-level clay events ending in the opening round. The American is 1-4 vs top 10 players and only claimed her first tour-level in on grass in the first round of Queens. Zheng should be able to cover a -3.5 games line in victory.

Head To Head

This will be the first career meeting between the pair.

Qinwen Zheng Form

Zheng comes into this encounter with a 17-9 record on the season, picking things up after an injury-disrupted start to 2025 in which she only won a handful of matches across the opening two months.

Still just 22 years of age, Zheng made three straight quarter-finals at Indian Wells, Miami and Charleston, along with reaching the semi-finals of Rome (beating Sabalenka for the first time) and the last eight at Roland Garros.

The World No. 5 has been consistent, but Zheng remains without a title this season and searching for her best form that she exhibited to secure Olympic Gold and go 32-8 from July to November 2024.

As mentioned, Zheng hasn't had much success on grass so far in her short career, losing eight of her 11 tour-level matches on the surface.

McCartney Kessler Form

Kessler has registered a 22-14 record so far this season, rising to No. 42 in the world and winning her second career WTA title in Hobart.

The American was playing well on hardcourt in the opening months of the year, reaching the R16 in Dubai with a win over recently-crowned French Open champion Coco Gauff and finishing runner-up in Austin.

A switch to European clay didn't prove too fruitful, with Kessler managing just one tour-level win in her six events.

With limited experience on grass, Kessler managed to claim her first tour-level win on the surface in her Queens opening round, easing past wildcard Francesca Jones 6-2 6-4.

Live Stream

Watch and bet on Qinwen Zheng vs McCartney Kessler live tennis from London.

You can watch and bet on the match live at Unibet > Tennis > WTA Queens with the action available to stream on desktop and mobile.

Geo-restrictions apply, you'll need a funded account or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours to gain access. 18+ terms and conditions apply.

Verdict

Qinwen Zheng v McCartney Kessler

Both players are relatively inexperienced on grass, but this should be a decent matchup for Zheng, with Kessler struggling to replicate her form on hardcourt on the natural surfaces.

Zheng to cover a -3.5 games line in victory.

Zheng -3.5

Games Line

$1.93 - 2 Units

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