Garbiñe Muguruza v Elise Mertens Betting Tips [17 January 2023]

26th seeded Elise Mertens takes on unseeded Garbine Muguruza in the Australian Open first round. The winner of this match faces either Lauren Davis or Danka Kovinic (both unseeded) in round two. Mertens was ranked 32nd in the last WTA ranking list and has a good record in this Grand Slam. 2018 saw the Belgian reach the semi-finals and the past three years have all seen her lose in the fourth round. Even more success has been achieved in the doubles with a title won in 2021 and a semi-final last year. Mertens hasn't made a strong start to the new year. The United Cup saw her lose to Maria Sakkari but defeat Gergana Topalova in three sets but her opponent is ranked outside the top 300. Her first singles event of the year produced a loss to Maryna Zanevska (then the world number 84) in straight sets.

Garbine Muguruza is a former Australian Open finalist. That was three years ago but her form has gone downhill in recent years. The former world number one has slid to 73rd in the rankings published on January 8. That's a fall of 15 places this year and in January 2022 the Spaniard only had two players above her in the rankings and one of those (Ashleigh Barty) has since retired. One reason for the big drop was losing points from 2021 wins in the WTA Tour Finals, not even qualifying for the 2022 event. This year isn't going well either with no wins in her first two tournaments, losing to Bianca Andreescu and Belinda Benic with only one set won. That makes it four matches in a row on the WTA Tour without a win. Muguruza has met Mertens twice in the past and won both encounters. The most recent was in 2021, the other way back in 2016. This looks a match that will go to a final set.