World number 17 Elise Mertens will take on the 86th-ranked Viktorija Golubic in the second round of the 2021 WTA Istanbul Open on Thursday, April 22. Get the live streaming options of this Elise Mertens v Viktorija Golubic match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Elise Mertens v Viktorija Golubic Head to Head
This will be the first time that Mertens and Golubic will be facing off in a competitive encounter at this level.
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Mertens Starts Off Strongly
Much like was the case last season, Mertens didn’t have the best start to the clay court swing this year, losing to Alize Cornet in the first round of the Charleston Open last week. Fortunately for the Dutchwoman she turned things around very quickly after that as she ended the 2020 season with a 9-4 win-loss record on dirt.
The manner in which she has begun her Istanbul campaign here is reminiscent of her turnaround last year.
In a match lasting an hour and 30 minutes, Mertens came through in straight sets against Lara Arruabarrena to seal her second round spot. She won 6-2, 6-0, with the world number 17 breaking her opponent five times in the match while herself saving all the three break-points she faced.
What Mertens would like to improve on is her first serve percentage which was quite a low 46% in her opener. Either ways she would be a huge favourite starting out in this one.
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Golubic Scrapes Past Parrizas-Diaz
Once ranked 51st in the world, Golubic has now fallen to 86th on the WTA charts but her performances this season have ensured there has been an upward trajectory in the manner in which she has performed this year.
That has been down to her performances at the ITF circuit for starters but more than that her showing at the Lyon Open and Monterrey Open. Starting out as a qualifier in both those tournaments, Golubic made it through to the final in those and while those didn’t result in a win in either, it has helped her climb more than 50 places.
In her first round here, Golubic needed three sets to get past Nuria Parrizas-Diaz, defeating the Spaniard 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in a little over two hours.
The two players exchanged an early break before Golubic got herself a decisive break in the ninth game before serving out for the first set. Her game fell away as she dropped two games on serve and while she got one back, the Swiss player was broken for the third time in the set.
At one set apiece, Golubic started off with a break of serve in the very first game but then dropped serve in the fourth game. That didn’t stop her when the going got tough as she carved out back to back breaks to seal off the encounter.
Mertens v Golubic Prediction and Tip
Mertens is a heavy favourite but we think it could get slightly tighter than that. A good game for a games handicap.
Tip: Games Handicap Golubic +5.5: 5/6 (bet365)
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The 2021 WTA Istanbul Open will be played from April 19 to 25. You can watch & bet on these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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