World number 16 Elise Mertens will be up against China’s Zhu Lin in the second round of the 2021 Australian Open on Thursday, February 11, with the match likely to begin at around 11 am local time (12 noon BST or 7 pm Eastern Time previous day). Get the live streaming options of this Elise Mertens v Zhu Lin match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Elise Mertens v Zhu Lin Head to Head
These players have been involved in two previous matches and the scoreline is 1-1. Mertens won their first one at Tianjin in 2018, while Lin surprised her opponent in Dubai in three sets.
Also Read:
Mertens Continues Golden Run
If good form was the sole criteria to win titles, Mertens would have had five titles over the past 12 months. That she has just one under her belt in that period is down to falling at the late stages of tournaments to some of the top players in the world but as far as her results go, she has been right on the mark.
And those results have continued in 2021 as well.
She started off brilliantly at the Gippsland Trophy where Mertens overcame Caroline Garcia, Elina Svitolina and Kaia Kanepi to win the title, also aided in part due to the withdrawal of Naomi Osaka from her semifinal.
And in her opening round tie here at the Australian Open, she routed the talented Canadian Leylah Fernandez, needing just an hour and 27 minutes to get past her. Mertens won 6-1, 6-3, breaking her opponent five times and losing her own serve only once.
Mertens is champion-material if she can carve out some favours from the draw but against low-ranked players, she shouldn’t have too many worries.
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Lin Whittles Whitney in Opener
The 94th-ranked Lin didn’t make the best of starts to this season as she lost in the first round of the Abu Dhabi, before crashing out at the same stage of the tuneup tournament in Melbourne.
So while Lin was a favourite starting out in her opener against Whitney Osuigwe, there was every chance of stumble for a player who had a win-loss record of 4-5 in main draws of all tournaments combined last season. For a player who hadn’t played in the entirety of the second session of the season, post the pandemic break.
Which is why a 6-1, 6-1 win for the Chinese-woman against a very talented youngster should go a long way in bolstering her confidence. May be not for this match but for the rest of the season.
Because here, she would be up against someone who doesn’t loosen her stranglehold too easily.
Mertens v Lin Prediction and Tip
Mertens will be an overwhelming favourite to win this in straight sets, and we could also expect for there to be less than 19.5 games in this one.
Tip: Under 19.5 games in the match: 5/6 (bet365)
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The 2021 Australian Open will be played from February 8 to 21. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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