Vera Zvonareva vs. Elise Mertens – Prediction – WTA Linz (Austria) 12.11.2020

H2H: Vera Zvonareva v Elise Mertens – comparison.

Zvonareva is a decorated player in Linz. In the five times she played this tournament during 2003-08, the Russian reached the quarterfinals four times and made it as far as the final in 2008 (l. Ivanovic). She had never met Mertens in a singles match before but they have clashed thrice in doubles with the Belgian winning twice.

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Second seed Elise Mertens unexpectedly dropped the opening set to world no. 163 and qualifier Anhelina Kalinina, but claimed 80% of first-serve points in the next two to win 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. This is her first victory at the Austrian event as her only previous stay came in 2016, which ended with a first qualifying round loss to Bogdan. Mertens has now won 20 matches since the tour’s return from the pandemic break, more than anyone else in this period. She has reached at least the quarterfinals in five out of her last six tournaments, including at Ostrava last month — it was her career’s third-ever WTA indoor quarterfinals after Luxembourg and Biel in 2017.

Vera Zvonareva is rolling back the clock in Linz. 12 years after last playing this tournament, the now 36-year-old marks her return with a 6-4, 6-2 win over rising Ukrainian star Marta Kostyuk. She has also gone deep in the doubles draw, partnering with Gabriela Dabrowski and entering its semifinals with the loss of no sets. Two-time Slam finalist Zvonareva is having a decent season from all quarters. In singles, she has reached the finals of 125K Indian Wells in March and W25 Istanbul in October, and also win the doubles title at the US Open with Siegemund — defeated none other than defending champions Mertens and Sabalenka during that run.

Match Info.