Leylah Annie Fernandez vs Elise Mertens Prediction & Betting Tips - Qualifying WTA Guadalajara

Prediction published on 9/18/23, 7:39 AM  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 9/19/23 at 9:40 AM

13th seed Elise Mertens takes on unseeded Leylah Annie Fernandez in the Guadalajara Open second round. This is the last 32 and the winner will be up against American opposition in the third round. That'll be either fourth seed Madison Keys, Emma Navarro or qualifier Maria Matteas. Mertens is 29th in the world rankings and came into this hard court event having lost her last two matches. One was to Coco Gauff in the US Open but the Belgian did take a set off the eventual champion. Her most recent tournament was in San Diego where losing in her first match to Sloane Stephens. Her first round win over Yanina Wickmayer was therefore a very welcome one. The first set went to a tie-break but Mertens only lost two games in the second. Her only previous match against Fernandez was on a hard court. That was at the 2021 Australian Open with only four games dropped by the Belgian.

Leylah Annie Fernandez is down at 74th in the world rankings. That's 61 places lower than the career high achieved after losing in the final of the 2021 US Open. The Canadian has struggled to repeat that form in subsequent Grand Slams, failing to get past the second round in any of them. There has been some singles success with a second title won in Monterrey which is WTA 250 level. Better results have come in the doubles game where she's ranked 21st. Fernandez had lost her last three singles matches before a straight sets win over qualifier Asia Muhammad in the first round. We go for Elise Mertens to get the win in this match.