The opening rounds of the WTA Luxembourg Open 2019 on Tuesday, October 15, will see the number top seeds in action. Get Elise Mertens v Stefanie Voegele & Andrea Petkovic v Camila Giorgi tips, previews, and predictions here.
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Elise Mertens v Stefanie Voegele Predictions & Preview
Mertens and Voegele have met twice on the tour, one of which coincidentally took place in the Luxembourg Open back in 2016. The tally currently stands at 1-1, with their last meeting take place over three years ago.
The 23-year-old Belgian, seeded first for the tournament in Luxembourg, has had a pretty decent year so far. Even though she started inside the top 20 and eventually fell out of it, Mertens still had her moments. Most notably, she won the WTA Doha by defeating Kiki Bertens, Angelique Kerber, and Simona Halep.
However, she didn’t quite manage to retain that momentum and form for the rest of the tournaments on the circuit. Her run in Doha was followed by a litany of early round exits in the subsequent events in Europe, including the French Open. At the SW19, she reached the fourth round but once again, failed to capitalize on it. But then, it changed in the US Open where she reached the quarterfinal as a singles player and won the doubles title partnered with Aryna Sabalenka. She had similar runs in Indian Wells, Miami, and Wuhan, thus cementing her position as a top doubles player on the tour.
On the other hand, Voegele is currently ranked in the early 100s, courtesy of her poor year. Having spent a majority of the year battling qualifying rounds and early-round exits, the 29-year-old Swiss never really had a chance to move up in the rankings. In fact, she is playing in the main draw in Luxembourg by virtue of the lucky loser card.
Her best run came in an ITF event in France where she was a finalist. As for this game between her and Mertens, she faces a nearly-impossible task of delivering the upset.
Tip: Under 17.5 games in the match 8/5 with Unibet
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Camila Giorgi v Andrea Petkovic Predictions & Preview
The two ladies have met six times on the tour and Giorgi, at the moment, leads by 4-2. They last met in the WTA Bronx in August where Giorgi won in three sets to reach the quarterfinal. As for Petkovic’s last win over the Italian, it came in the 2016 WTA Dubai.
Giorgi, seeded number six for the tournament, has had one of the worst seasons of her professional career so far. Starting inside the top 30, she is currently ranked World No. 92, courtesy of her inability to deliver results on the tour. She completely missed the clay swing and continued to deal with her severe loss in form.
However, not everything has been bleak for the Italian, who did manage to reach the final in the WTA Washington and the Bronx Open. Settling for the runner-up trophies there, these runs brought her some reprieve although, they didn’t help her that much in terms of a ranking boost. The only other time she had a decent run post that was in Osaka, where she knocked out Sloane Stephens to reach round three.
As for Petkovic, she has had a pretty similar year to Giorgi’s. Even though she has been fairly more active on the tour, the German hasn’t been able to move beyond the opening rounds. Currently ranked World No. 75, her best run came in Linz last week where she reached the semifinal. With that, she also reached the third round in the US Open, defeating Petra Kvitova in the process.
As a former top 10 player, Petkovic clearly has the necessary skills needed to go the distance here in Luxembourg. In terms of titles, she has been far more successful than Giorgi and will hold a definite edge for this fixture. However, given her 2-4 trail in the head to head tally, it will be interesting to see how she navigates that hurdle.
Tip: Over 20.5 games in the match 5/6 with Unibet
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