Second seeded Sofia Kenin will have a tough challenge on her hands when she takes on the 16th seeded Elise Mertens in the fourth round of the 2020 US Open. This match will be played on Monday, September 7, and is yet to be scheduled. Get the live streaming options of this Sofia Kenin v Elise Mertens match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Sofia Kenin v Elise Mertens Head to Head
Two previous matches between these players have both resulted in wins for Kenin. Both the matches came in 2019, at Mallorca on grass and in Wuhan on hard court surfaces with Mertens pushing Kenin to three sets in those matches.
Also Read:
Kenin Bringing Back Her Australian Open Form
It’s been the case of upping the ante when it matters for Kenin. The Australian Open winner looked to have fallen away a tad after that tournament victory, losing three of her next four matches including one at the Fed Cup, but just before the pandemic ended the season for six months, Kenin went on to clinch the Lyon Open.
However, on resumption, Kenin failed to make an impression in her first match, losing in straight sets to Alize Cornet at the Cincinnati Open.
Coming into this second Grand Slam of the year, therefore, there was always that worry if she was undercooked and rusty. As it has turned out, her form from her maiden major triumph looks to be back, and on Saturday she registered her third successive straight-set win.
It came against Ons Jabeur, a player she had beaten at the Australian Open as well, and she repeated the dose with a 7-6, 6-3 win. Earlier in the tournament, Yanina Wickmayer and Leylah Fernandez had been no match for her either.
Mertens could be the most difficult she faces, however, in a while.
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Mertens with Three Straight-Set Wins
Much like Kenin, Mertens is also yet to drop a set at this US Open. After starting off with wins over Laura Siegemund and Sara Sorribes Tormo, two tricky opponents in her first two rounds, Mertens dispatched Caty McNally 7-5, 6-1 to march into the fourth round.
In a match lasting an hour and 24 minutes, Mertens started off slowly as she went behind 3-0 in the first set but from there on lost only three more games in the entire match. Mertens also broke her opponent on five of the six chances she got and smashed 22 winners and won 10 of the 12 times she went to the net.
While Mertens would like to improve her first serve percentage (it was a mere 55% in this match), she has now won 11 of her last 14 matches since her return to tennis. Two of those she has lost, however, have been against Simona Halep on clay and Naomi Osaka on hard court – both in fighting manners though.
Kenin will provide a similar challenge for Mertens, who had earlier made the fourth round at the Australian Open too.
Kenin v Mertens Prediction & Tip
Kenin has been a far superior player than most this season and in the form she has shown in the US Open so far, she is currently 9/1 to lift the title – behind Osaka, Serena, Kvitova and Azarenka. She could be stretched for the first time in the tournament in this encounter but should go through anyway.
Tip: Kenin to win: 4/9 (bet365)
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The US Open 2020 will be played from August 31 to September 13. You can watch & bet on the US Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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