The opening rounds of the 2019 WTA Luxembourg Open on Thursday, October 17 will see a few top seeds in action. Get Elise Mertens v Jelena Ostapenko, Julia Goerges v Sorana Cirstea tips, previews, and predictions here, with a few other matches as well.
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Elise Mertens v Jelena Ostapenko Predictions & Preview
This is the first meeting between the two ladies on the WTA Tour.
Elise Mertens, the Belgian No. 1, started her campaign in Luxembourg with a clinical 6-0, 6-3 win over Bibiane Schoofs in the opener. As for Ostapenko, who is playing as a wildcard, she moved past Catherine McNally in the opener in straight sets although, the match did prove to be fairly tricky for the Latvian.
Mertens is currently Doubles No. 4, courtesy of her doubles title in the US Open. However, on the singles circuit, she hasn’t been that impressive of late. Following her quarterfinal run at the Flushing Meadows and the semifinal feat in Osaka, she moved on to lose fairly early in the remaining Asian tournaments.
Despite starting the year on a solid note – winning the WTA Doha, the Belgian has spent a considerable amount of time in attempts to recapture that feat. On the other hand, Ostapenko is looking to reclaim the glory which took her to the French Open title in 2017. With a strike rate of 22-27, the Latvian is now currently World No. 63 and continues to fall down in the rankings.
After spending her year battling with early-round exits, she had some reprieve in Linz last week when she reached the final. That was her first singles final since the Miami Open last year.
Tip: Under 2.5 sets in the match: 19/20 with Unibet
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Julia Goerges v Sorana Cirstea Predictions & Preview
The tally between the two players currently stands at 2-2 although, they last met back in the 2014 Stuttgart Open. Goerges was the clear winner there in straight sets.
Goerges, seeded second for the tournament, was a top 10 player at one point in time. However, at the moment, she is World No. 26, courtesy of a rather average showing this season. Having enjoyed a good run in the first half of the season, where she won the Auckland Open and reached the final Birmingham, her form has dwindled over the last couple of months.
While she managed to reach the fourth round in the US Open after knocking out Kiki Bertens, she failed to continue playing in the same vein in Linz and Beijing. This lack of consistency was also seen across her tournaments this season.
As for Cirstea, she moved past Pauline Parmentier in the opener in straight sets. With a strike rate of 18-19, her chances of going the distance in Luxembourg are slim although, the chances do exist. After all, in her last tournament in Tashkent, she made it all the way to the final, losing to Alison Van Uytvanck.
Also a semifinalist in Nurnberg, these were among her sole highlights of the season. Everywhere else, she had to settle for rather early losses.
Tip: Goerges to win: 16/25 with Unibet
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Andrea Petkovic v Antonia Lottner Predictions & Preview
Lottner holds a 1-0 lead over Petkovic, last beating her in the Mallorca Open last season.
The 32-year-old Petkovic is seeking a resurgence on the tour at the moment. Hoping to reach her first singles final since the Antwerp Open back in 2015, the German’s attempts so far have been rather futile. She has spent a majority of the season in early-round defeats, except for the Linz Open last week, where she was a semifinalist. It is also worth mentioning that Petkovic defeated Petra Kvitova in the US Open to reach the third round.
As for Lottner, she is a player who is currently ranked 210. The young German has spent a great deal of her time on the ITF circuit although, she did feature in a handful of WTA tournaments. She hasn’t had a lot of success in either, to say the least. Case in point, her last title in any disciple came in 2016.
In Luxembourg, she is playing as a qualifier and so far, has defeated Tamara Korpatsch in three sets. Meanwhile, Petkovic moved past a rather dominant Camila Giorgi in straight sets. For this match, we can expect a lot of quality shots with both the players set to put up a good fight. In the end, however, Petkovic should come out on the top.
Tip: Over 20.5 games in the match: 11/20 with Unibet