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Match details
Fixture: Elise Mertens vs Kristina Mladenovic
Date: 24 August 2020
Tournament: Western & Southern Open 2020
Round: Round of 32
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York, USA
Category: WTA Premier 5
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $1,950,079
Match timing: 3 pm EDT, 12.30 am IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel / ESPN
Elise Mertens vs Kristina Mladenovic preview
World No. 22 Elise Mertens will be looking to continue her impressive form since the restart of the tennis season as she goes up against Kristina Mladenovic at the Western and Southern Open on Monday.
Mertens dispatched her first-round opponent Rebecca Peterson 6-0 6-2 in less than an hour. The Belgian looked in terrific form, not losing serve even once and winning a whopping 30 more points than her opponent.
The 24-year-old also had an impressive run at the Prague Open last week. She reached the final in the Czech capital, beating several strong players including Camila Giorgi and Eugenie Bouchard along the way.
Mertens' opponent, World No. 43 Kristina Mladenovic, is coming into the match on the back of a straight-sets win over Anastasija Sevastova. The Frenchwoman has also had to make a transition from clay to hardcourt, having lost in the first round of the Palermo Open earlier this month.
Mladenovic's powerful all-court game has proven to be quite successful over the course of her career, and that pitted against Mertens' effective counterpunching promises to make for an intriguing contest.
Elise Mertens vs Kristina Mladenovic head-to-head
The meeting at the Western and Southern Open in New York is set to be the fifth between the two players. Kristina Mladenovic currently leads 3-1 in the head-to-head against Elise Mertens.
Their last meeting was at the Fed Cup in 2018, where Mladenovic won in straight sets. Before that, the pair met at the Round of 32 stage in St. Petersburg in 2017, where Mladenvoic was the victor 7-6 6-4.
Mertens' only win against the Frenchwoman came at Hobart in 2017, where she dispatched Mladenovic 6-1 6-2. That win had followed yet another straight-sets defeat at hands of Mladenovic, at 's-Hertongenbosch in 2016.
Elise Mertens vs Kristina Mladenovic prediction
Despite their head-to-head statistics, Mertens comes into the match in New York as the favorite given her recent form and the gulf in rankings between the two players.
Mladenovic will look to stop Mertens from taking control of the game by attacking her serve. The Frenchwoman's biggest asset coming into this match are her serve and forehand, with which she will be looking to control the rallies.
But against an in-form Mertens, Mladenovic will have her task cut out.
Prediction: Elise Mertens to win in straight sets.
