Mertens vs Podoroska: which bet to choose for this match?
In the first round of Cincinnati tournament Elise Mertens will face Nadia Podoroska on August 16. Who will advance into the second round? The answer is in our prediction.

Command Analysis

Elise Mertens

Elise Mertens' performance and results significantly dropped during the summer. Belgian player performed badly at the Olympic Games, losing in the first round to Ekaterina Alexandrova (4:6, 6:4, 4:6). She reached the semi-final of San Jose tournament, but her victories over Mladenovic and Putintseva were not confident and then she failed to put up a fight against Kasatkina (3:6, 2:6).
In the previous week Mertens were beaten at the start of Montreal tournament by the eventual winner, Camila Giorgi (3:6, 5:7). Overall, Belgian player is in a poor form now.

Nadia Podoroska

Since the beginning of the year Nadia Podoroska is not putting up high results. Argentinian player usually leaves the tournament after one or two victories. At the Olympic Games in Tokyo she reached the third round, beating strong opponents, Putintseva and Alexandrova.
In the previous week Podoroska participated at Montreal tournament. In the first round she crushed Magda Linette (6:1, 6:2). Then she was beaten by the eventual winner of the tournament, Camila Giorgi (2:6, 4:6).
Trends
СтавкаFirst set: total under 9.5
In four most recent matches of Mertens no more than nine games were played in the first set

СтавкаSets performance: 2>1
In seven most recent matches of Argentinian player more games were played in the second set than in the first one

Tip and bets
For the most recent time Mertens recorded a victory with a handicap over five games at the Wimbledon. After that, Belgian player's level of performance dropped on hard surface and she can't record a confident victory. In our opinion, Podoroska should be able to put up a fight against Mertens.
Our prediction - Podoroska to win with a handicap of (+5) games
After the Wimbledon Mertens played five matches on hard courts. Only in one of them a total of 20 games was not beaten. In our prediction we are expecting a long match.
Our second bet is on total over 20 games