The world number 20 Elise Mertens will face Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia in a potentially exciting third round clash at the 2021 WTA Gippsland Trophy on Wednesday, February 3, with the match likely to begin at around 2:30 pm local time (8:30 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
Three previous outings between these two players have all led to one result – a Garcia victory.
Their rivalry began at the China Open in 2017 where Garcia carved out a 7-6, 6-4 win, before they met again in the Fed Cup in 2019 that saw the Frenchwoman clinching an easy victory.
At the 2020 French Open, Mertens had gone into their third round encounter as a favourite and was up a set as well but somehow fell in three sets to Garcia.
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Mertens Minces Mayo
It took Mertens all of an hour and 15 minutes to get past her first round opponent Mayo Hibi, with the Belgian winning 6-2, 6-2 as was expected.
Mertens had few problems, most of them related to her serve but she more than made up for them with excellent control all throughout the encounter. A break of serve in the fourth and sixth game of the opening set helped her take a 5-1 lead and while she was broken the very next game, Mertens retaliated with a break of serve in the eighth game as well to close out the set.
This was followed by two early breaks of serve for Mertens to go 5-0 up. Hibi held serve after been broken thrice in a row and then broke Mertens for the second time in the match only to drop serve yet again and go down in straight sets.
This would have been the kind of start Mertens hoped for after the kind of run she had in the phase after the pandemic break. A finalist at the Prague Open, Mertens went on to make it to the semifinals at the Cincinnati Open, a quarterfinal at the US Open and another final in Linz.
She now takes on an opponent she has found difficult to beat but as far as confidence and ranking advantage go, Mertens will hold the edge.
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Successive Straight-Set Wins for Garcia
The former world number four Garcia might have fallen 40 places down that career-best ranking, but she still has shown glimpses of what she is capable of at her best.
At the French Open last season for instance, Garcia defeated Anett Kontaveit, Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Mertens to make it to the fourth round before going down to Elina Svitolina. Earlier she had also made it to the third round at the US Open.
In Melbourne, Garcia did not have a first round bye unlike a lot of her opponents, but the 12th seed was off to a flier in the first round when she defeated Arina Rodionova 6-3, 6-4 and then lived up to her favourite billing by getting past Timea Babos 6-4, 6-4.
Mertens will be a huge step up from the previous results but the one thing to expect from Garcia is a fight.
Mertens v Garcia Prediction and Tip
Mertens would have revenge on her mind when she takes on Garcia, a player she has lost every time to. Given Mertens’ form leading into the season and the start she has made, expect her to edge out her opponent.
Tip: Mertens to win: 1/2 (bet365)
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The 2021 WTA Gippsland Trophy in Melbourne will be played from January 31. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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