World number 18 Elise Mertens will face USA’s Shelby Rogers in the second round of the 2021 WTA Dubai on Tuesday, March 9. The match is yet to be scheduled. Get the live streaming options of this Elise Mertens v Shelby Rogers match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Elise Mertens v Shelby Rogers Head to Head
Their only previous meeting came in the qualifiers of the Mallorca Open way back in 2016 where Mertens was a straight-set winner over Rogers.
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Mertens 8-1 This Season
While the big-ticket players have got their recognition over the past 15 months or so, Mertens hasn’t quite received that kind of adulation and that’s bit of a surprise given her record. Last year, Mertens ended with a 32-13 win-loss record, which included two tournament finals and she has taken that form forward to register eight wins from nine matches already.
This includes a title victory at the Gippsland Trophy, where she defeated Caroline Garcia, Elina Svitolina and Kaia Kanepi but was obviously aided by the pull-out of Naomi Osaka in the semifinal.
At the Australian Open that followed, Mertens should have probably gone even further than her fourth round loss to Karolina Muchova. She went down in two, close sets to a player who showed immense grit and went on to make it to the semi-final of the competition in the end.
Which is why it was bit of a surprise when Mertens dropped the first set of her first round match here to lucky loser Viktoriya Tomova, before coming back strongly to wrap up the encounter. In a match that lasted two hours and 36 minutes, Mertens was broken four times in a bizarre first set, but just twice more in the next two to come away a winner.
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Rogers Sends Out Kanepi
It has been a good start to her season but when Rogers was drawn to play Kaia Kanepi, she would have expected the match to be a toughie. Kanepi had earlier made it to the final of the Gippsland Trophy – where, coincidentally she had lost to Rogers’ opponent in this match – and then helped herself to a third round appearance at the Australian Open as well.
However, Rogers adapted to her opponent’s game rather nicely, and in an hour and 47 minutes, registered a 7-6 (4), 6-2 win to come through to the second round.
Rogers was off the blocks rather quickly, taking a 2-0 lead before Kanepi levelled things out just as her opponent prepared to serve for the first set. In the tie-breaker that followed, things were all square after the first eight points before Rogers raced away to win the next three and pouch the set.
The second set was a lot easier for Rogers despite exchanging breaks in the first four games. She then broke Kanepi in the fifth and seventh games of the second set before serving it out to love and winning the match.
It might not get as easy in her second round match though.
Mertens v Rogers Prediction and Tip
While Mertens is a favourite here, Rogers will know she could have her chances in this one. That said, we will still back Mertens to win it but for a slightly higher risk option, a three-setter looks likely.
Tip: Mertens to win: 4/7 (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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