World number 20 Elise Mertens will take on Frenchwoman and the 45th-ranked Caroline Garcia in the third round of the 2020 French Open. The match begins at around 11 am local time (10 am BST or 5 am Eastern Time) on Friday, October 2. This will begin at around 12.00 pm local time (11.00 am BST or 6 am Eastern Time). Get the live streaming options of this Elise Mertens v Caroline Garcia match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Elise Mertens v Caroline Garcia Head to Head
Both the two previous meetings between these players have led to a Garcia win. The first came at the China Open of 2017 where Garcia was a straight-set winner before Mertens went down in a Fed Cup match last year, also in straight sets.
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Mertens Makes Merry Yet Again
The big names in women’s tennis, especially the likes of Simona Halep, Naomi Osaka and Victoria Azarenka might be hogging all the limelight at the moment – and rightly so too given their form – but it’s worth looking at Elise Mertens’ showing all season.
Having earlier made the fourth round at the Australian Open and then done just one better at the US Open, the Belgian is now on the cusp of another fourth round appearance at Roland Garros.
What’s really worked for Mertens all season is her ability to see out the early rounds with consistency. Lower-ranked players haven’t troubled her too much and while a title still eludes her this season, Mertens has already made it to the semifinal of the Cincinnati Open and entered the title-decider at Prague.
Here at Roland-Garros, Mertens has been clinical as she typically has been in the early rounds. After a 6-2, 6-3 win over Margarita Gasparyan, the world number 20 defeated the experienced Estonian Kaia Kanepi in straight sets too.
Mertens broke Kanepi in the fourth game of the opening set and while she failed to serve out at 5-3, the Belgian was up for the task by breaking her opponent again to clinch it 6-4.
The second set was a lot tougher and Mertens’ serve was tested more than usual, getting broken first in the third game and then again in seventh. Both times, Mertens responded with a break of her own, before getting past her opponent’s serve at 6-5 to move to round three.
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Garcia Overcomes the Sasnovich Challenge
After a stiff first round encounter against the seeded and much-favoured Anett Kontaveit, Garcia managed to come through in straight sets against Aliaksandra Sasnovich but not before her opponent had stretched her in the opening set.
In a first set which saw neither player able to hold on to their serves with too much conviction, Garcia fell behind on three occasions after getting broken but clawed back soon after with a break of her own. Even in the tie-breaker, Sasnovich looked like she had a chance to pocket the first set when she led 5-2 but Garcia then went on a point-winning rampage to seal it 7-5.
It seemed like Garcia’s fighting capabilities and Sasnovich’s inability to close out the set on those multiple occasions seemed to have gotten to the latter as the Frenchwoman wrapped up the second set and the match by breaking her opponent twice.
Garcia will face another tough challenge here but she has shown form and has the better of the head to heads between them to give her the confidence she needs.
Mertens v Garcia Prediction and Tip
Garcia is 2-0 on head to head against Mertens, while the latter is 9-3 on clay this season and 28-10 overall at the highest level. Could turn out to be an exciting match as a result but one where we back Mertens to squeak past her opponent.
Tip: Over 20.5 games in the match: 5/6 (bet365)
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The French Open 2020 will be played from September 27 to October 11. You can watch & bet on the French Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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