Belgium’s Elise Mertens will attempt to stop in-form Jessica Pegula when they meet in the quarterfinal of the 2021 WTA Dubai on Thursday, March 11. The match will be played at 3:15 pm local time. Get the live streaming options of this Elise Mertens v Jessica Pegula match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Elise Mertens v Jessica Pegula Head to Head
Mertens and Pegula have played once; in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Masters last year which was held in Pegula’s home city of New York. The Belgian was victorious in straight sets.
Also Read:
Mertens Sinks Garcia
Elise Mertens entered her third round showdown against Caroline Garcia with a 3-1 deficit in their head-to-head record. And given Garcia’s struggles in recent months and the possibility of exiting the top 50 for the first time in eight years, there was a lot at stake for the Frenchwoman.
But Mertens piled more misery, and continued to demonstrate her hard-court prowess with another comfortable straight sets win to reach the quarterfinals in Dubai for the first time. The Belgian hammered seven aces, fashioned eight break points and converting five.
The 25-year-old is currently 10-1 for the season, with the only stain in what has been a broadly impressive start to the year being a fourth round defeat to Karolina Muchova at the year’s first Major. Other than that, Mertens has looked in fine form, winning a third title on Australian soil at the Gippsland Trophy.
She has been bothered by shoulder issue since the new season began in Abu Dhabi, with Mertens missing out the year’s curtain raiser in the Emirates capital.
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Pegula Routs Pliskova Again
Who is stopping Jessica Pegula? That is the millionaire dollar question on the eve of the quarterfinals of the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Pegula’s form right now is reminiscent of a player who just doesn’t know when she is beaten.
Only four women have gotten the better of new world no.36 this year, but none of them are lurking in her side of the draw as she eyes the biggest title of her career.
There is no Elina Svitolina who is plunging away, as is Sofia Kenin who even didn’t make it to Dubai. Jennifer Brady who also tasted success against her good friend, made a short, one-stop trip in the Middle East and is not playing in the Emirates’ second city. And then of course, there is Petra Kvitova who beat Pegula in last week’s quarterfinals in Doha, but was forced to retire due to injury this week.
Pegula’s 19th match of this extraordinary season, yielded a 15th match win. And for the second time in the space of a week, she handed another chastening loss to Karolina Pliskova. Just to emphasize the nature of the humiliation, Pliskova was soundly beaten 6-0 6-2 in a 50-minute contest. Remarkably, the Czech held serve once in the match.
As efficient as Pliskova’s delivery is, she won a meagre 34% of first serve points. Pegula was feeding on the return with incredible early takes and constantly placing the ball out of the Czech’s comfort zone. The Buffalo native is yet to drop a set this week, and hasn’t lost more than two games in the six sets she has played so far.
Mertens v Pegula Prediction and Tip
This should be a cracking contest with much of the build up centered on attack versus defense. Mertens is such a shrewd baseliner who will always let the opponent initiate attacks. But she will likely hit a speed bump if she employs a similar strategy against a confident and in-form Jessica Pegula. The American’s game is firing on all cylinders right now and is a solid pick to advance.
Tip: Pegula to win: 10/11 (bet365)
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The 2021 WTA Dubai Open will be played from March 8 to 14. You can watch & bet on these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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