World number 16 Elise Mertens will hope to shrug off her injury issues when she faces Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova in the first round of the 2021 Italian Open on Monday, May 9. Get the live streaming options of this Elise Mertens v Veronika Kudermetova match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Elise Mertens v Veronika Kudermetova Head to Head
There have been four previous matches between these two players and Mertens has won every single time. This includes one match on the ITF circuit way back in 2016 as well.
More recently they faced off in Istanbul a few weeks ago and Mertens had run away a straight-set winner to reach the final.
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Mertens Hoping to Return from Injury
It looked like Mertens was headed in the right direction since starting the clay court swing with a first round loss at the Charleston Open.
That shock opening round defeat to Alize Cornet was followed by an excellent run in Istanbul where Mertens sailed into the final which included a win over the Russian Veronika Kudermetova in the last-four stage.
And when the Gipplsland Trophy winner from earlier this season, managed to carve out wins over Elena Rybakina and Simona Halep in Madrid, it looked like Mertens could prove to be a handful for doubles partner and in-form Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka turned out to be too good to handle but more vitally for Mertens, she was forced to retire from that encounter with a left thigh injury. Can she return to tennis this quickly and resume winning?
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Can In-Form Kudermetova Take Advantage of Opponent Injury?
A final appearance earlier in the season at the Abu Dhabi Open signalled Kudermetova’s form but it wasn’t until she won the title at Charleston that a lot of the fans began to sit up and take notice.
Now, two tournaments on from there, she is sitting pretty ranked 28th in the world, which is her career-best and will hope she can make it even further having never won a main draw match in Rome before this.
The problem for Kudermetova, who has defeated the likes of Sloane Stephens, Paula Badosa and Kiki Bertens on clay this season, is her opponent has had her measure.
Where the Russian can take advantage is Mertens’ injury which had forced her to retire from her match earlier this week. Kudermetova could look to take advantage of anything loose from Mertens as a result of that issue, more vitally because the Russian herself is going through the best phase of her tennis career.
Mertens v Kudermetova Prediction and Tip
On paper, Mertens is a heavy favourite but Kudermetova will give herself a chance here. A rare one at that. For starters one could look at Kudermetova winning a set, which looks like a safe bet.
Tip: Kudermetova to win a set – Yes: 8/13 (Click Here to Bet with bet365)
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The 2021 Italian Open will be played from May 9-16. You can watch & bet on these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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