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Match details
Fixture: (16) Elise Mertens vs Sara Sorribes Tormo
Date: 4 September 2020 (carried over from 3 September 2020, with Mertens leading 6-3, 1-0)
Tournament: US Open 2020
Round: Second round (Round of 64)
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York, USA
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $39,024,000
Match timing*: 12 pm EDT, 9.3 IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel / ESPN | India - Star Sports / Hotstar
*The match was originally scheduled for 5.30 pm EDT on 3 September, but will now resume at 12 pm EDT on 4 September.
Elise Mertens vs Sara Sorribes Tormo preview
16th seed Elise Mertens will be aiming for a spot in the US Open third round when she takes on World No. 82 Sara Sorribes Tormo on Thursday.
The two have had vastly different seasons so far. Mertens' 19-8 win-loss record for the year prior to the US Open shows how much consistency she has enjoyed even in this truncated season.
After starting with back-to-back quarterfinals at Shenzen and Hobart, the Belgian continued in the same vein to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open. The halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic didn't stop her momentum, as the World No. 18 came back better than ever to reach the Prague Open final and the Western & Southern Open semifinal.
Having tasted glory in doubles last year, Elise Mertens came back to the US Open with a bang. The Belgian completed a 6-2, 6-2 drubbing of World No. 64 Laura Siegemund on Tuesday to race into the second round.
Sara Sorribes Tormo, on the other hand, won just three main-draw matches all year heading into the US Open. Her most notable performance came at the Fed Cup Qualifiers in February, where she stunned two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.
Apart from that, it was only at the Prague Open last month that she was able to make any sort of impact, as she reached the last-eight stage.
Sorribes Tormo made short work of rising star Claire Liu on Tuesday to start off her US Open 2020 campaign in the best possible fashion.
Elise Mertens vs Sara Sorribes Tormo head-to-head
Elise Mertens and Sara Sorribes Tormo are locked at 1-1 in the head-to-head record.
Their first meeting was way back in 2014, when the Spaniard got the better of Mertens 7-5, 6-1 at Sharm El Sheikh.
In 2017 they squared off again on the hardcourts of Luxembourg, where the Belgian pummeled Sorribes Tormo 6-0, 6-2.
Elise Mertens vs Sara Sorribes Tormo prediction
This will be a battle of two counterpunchers looking to gain the edge from the baseline.
Mertens likes to take the ball early and hit flat from the baseline which could rob Sorribes Tormo, who relies on heavy topspin, of time. The Belgian also has way more confidence right now, coming in on the back of a flurry of big wins this year.
It is unlikely that the 2019 US Open quarterfinalist will be stopped in her tracks anytime soon.
Prediction: Elise Mertens to win in straight sets.
