In-form Spaniard Garbine Muguruza will face the rising Belgian star Elise Mertens in the semifinal of the 2021 WTA Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday, March 12. The match timings will be announced soon. Get the live streaming options of this Garbine Mugurza v Elise Mertens match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Garbine Mugurza v Elise Mertens Head to Head
Muguruza holds a 1-0 lead over Mertens, last beating her in the 2016 US Open.
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Mertens Looking Increasingly Dangerous
The 25-year-old Elise Mertens is having herself quite a season. Not only is she current World No. 2 on the doubles circuit, but she is also in the top 20 on the singles and has already won a singles title this year.
She is enjoying a terrific run in Dubai, starting with a three-set win over Viktoriya Tomova. In the next couple of rounds, she dispatched the likes of Shelby Rogers and Caroline Garcia in straight sets to reach the quarterfinal.
In the quarters, she met the American Jessica Pegula and moved past her in three sets. It was almost a three-hour affair but the Belgian escaped Pegula with 5-7, 7-5, 6-0.
With her current performance in Dubai, Mertens’ record win-loss tally this season is now 11-1. In February, she won the Gippsland Trophy where she beat the likes of Naomi Osaka and Elina Svitolina. Then a week later, she reached the fourth round in the Australian Open singles and went the distance in the doubles. Partnered with Sabalenka, Mertens won her second Grand Slam doubles title.
What’s quite impressive is the Belgian has proven herself to be one of the most consistent players on the tour. With the exception of the French Open, Mertens has reached the fourth round and beyond in all the tournaments she played in between August and the end of the season.
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Yet Another Semifinal for Muguruza
Muguruza is having herself a spell that is quite similar to that of Mertens’ this season. With two final appearances already on the tour in 2021, the Spaniard is playing more and more like her former self in 2017 when she became World No. 1.
The number 9 seed started her run with straight-set wins over Irina-Camelia Begu and Amanda Anisimova. In the third round, she moved past the reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek 6-0, 6-4.
It wasn’t until the quarterfinal that she ran into quite a bit of resistance against an evenly-matched Aryna Sabalenka. After losing the first set, Muguruza staged a comeback to take the game 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the semis.
With that win, Muguruza’s record win-loss record is now 16-4. Last week, she reached the final in the Doha Open where she lost to Petra Kvitova. She had a similar run at the start of the season when she got the runners-up trophy in the Yarra Valley Classic after losing to Ashleigh Barty in the final.
The Spaniard is certainly in familiar territory here, given all her experience from winning the Grand Slams and other titles.
Muguruza v Mertens Prediction and Tip
This is a classic case of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. Mertens and Muguruza have had a brilliant run so far this year, making this match worthy of a major final.
Expect world-class, entertaining tennis here.
Tip: Three sets in the match: 6/4 (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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