Qatar Open 2022: Petra Kvitova vs Elise Mertens preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: Petra Kvitova vs (16) Elise Mertens

Tournament: Qatar Open

Date: 22 February, 2022

Round: Second round (Round of 32)

Venue: Doha, Qatar

Category: WTA 1000

Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt

Prize money: $2,331,698

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Petra Kvitova vs Elise Mertens preview

Petra Kvitova will take on Elise Mertens in a second-round encounter at the 2022 Qatar Open on Tuesday.

Kvitova, the defending champion, got her campaign off to a flying start with an easy win over Irina-Camelia Begu. The southpaw cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 win in under an hour, exacting revenge for her loss at St. Petersburg Open last week.

The Czech has done well to bounce back from a bad start to the season, having made the quarterfinals in Dubai last week. She will look to carry the momentum deeper into this tournament.

Elise Mertens battled past Jasmine Paolini in her opening match.

Mertens, meanwhile, battled past Jasmine Paolini in her opening-round match. The Belgian outlasted her Italian opponent 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 after two hours and four minutes of play.

Mertens has made a decent start to the season, having reached the second week of the Australian Open and the quarterfinals in St. Petersburg. She did make a first-round exit in Dubai and will be keen to bounce back.

Petra Kvitova vs Elise Mertens head-to-head

Petra Kvitova leads Elise Mertens in their current head-to-head 1-0, having taken a hard-fought win over her opponent at the 2019 Cincinnati Open.

Petra Kvitova vs Elise Mertens prediction

Kvitova will look to take control of the match using her powerful groundstrokes.

Petra Kvitova's power-packed game is tailor-made for the quick courts in Doha. The Czech has had plenty of success at the tournament and picked up her fifth straight match win here against Begu on Monday.

The Czech player looked completely comfortable on court, managing to produce a fine display of first strike tennis. She was menacing on return, winning a whopping 55% of the first serve return points.

Kvitova is likely to step out swinging against Elise Mertens as well and the onus will be on the Belgian to try and come up with a strategy to diffuse her opponent's power.

Mertens will need to defend her serve well and keep the scoreboard pressure on at all times. The 16th seed will also need to play with increased aggression to keep Kvitova from settling into a rhythm. Unless she can do that, the Belgian risks being blown away by her opponent's power.

Prediction: Petra Kvitova to win in straight sets