As a first-seeded at the tournament and the second player in the WTA ranking, Pliskova played one match less in the tournament. On her way to the final she coped with Hercog, Kenin and Tomljanovic. The only player to take her set was the semi-finalist from the Western & Southern Open Sofia Kenin.
Pliskova has been enjoying a great season so far. She managed to win a tournament in Brisbane, Rome and Eastburne, and with a record of 48-13, she would only lose 86 points to the number one, Barty if she won the tournament in Zhengzhou.
Petra Martic played one more match on her way to the finals and lost one more set. She defeated Paolini, Ferro, Sabalenka and Mladenovic. Martic also enjoys a great season when she has already won the title in Istanbul and has a record of 31-13. If she wins a tournament, she would move to the 18th place in the WTA ranking, which would be her career maximum.
Both players met four times on the WTA circuit. Surprisingly, Croatian was the winner up to three times, dominating twice on the grass in 2013 and this year at the French Open. The only time Pliskova managed to win was on a hard court in Miami this year.