Fernandez vs Mertens: the Ningbo rematch comes down to freshness

Ten days after Ningbo, the same pairing returns in Tokyo: Leylah Fernandez and Elise Mertens meet again in the Pan Pacific Open last 16. The first chapter was a twisted one, 2-6 6-3 7-5 for the Canadian after losing the opening set; the ten days since have not treated the two players alike.

What ten days do to a body

Four matches, nine sets, eighty games in seven days for Fernandez, who left Ningbo on a 2-6 2-6 final defeat in 73 minutes (the numbers of that final) and was back on court on Tuesday in Tokyo. The Canadian Press also reported a doubles withdrawal on the day of her first-round match, over a sore left arm; what it costs her in singles nobody knows yet, and I would rather carry the doubt than dismiss it (first-round report).

Mertens has played exactly one match since Ningbo: 6-4 6-2 over Uchijima on Monday, in 1 hr 18 (a routine first round), with no doubles on top. Two sets, eighteen games in seven days. Early in October in Beijing she had also beaten Swiatek and Gauff before losing her semi-final: her level stands the comparison. Across their last ten matches, the Belgian holds 71% of her service games, the Canadian 67: on the outdoor hard at Ariake, that is the fault line of the match.

What the rematch says, and what it does not

Recent history plays for Fernandez: she took the Ningbo duel after losing the first set, and leads their head-to-head 2-1. That day, though, Mertens was the one making the running: 20 winners to 28, only half of the points won on her serve, three points behind in total, 94 to 97 (the match stats). To my eye, that match fell apart in the Belgian’s legs more than it was won by the Canadian’s shots. The Tokyo draw, shorn of Bencic, the defending champion, and of Swiatek through withdrawals, makes this more than an ordinary last 16. Where the match will be played on Thursday was still open as I write: court and time were not published yet, and the retractable roof at Ariake can close if the rain arrives.

Mertens at 1.95: I am taking the freshness

The market has swung the lines in three days: Fernandez went from 1.95 to 2.00 with Betway, Mertens from 2.00 to 1.95 with Betano. At 1.95 the Belgian gets a little over one chance in two; I give her 57. Fernandez’s momentum and her Ningbo win play against me, and I am not ignoring them; against four matches in seven days and a left arm under watch, Mertens’s freshness weighs more.

So I am taking Mertens to win the match, at 1.95 with Betano, with a stake of 1.5 units, that is $150. Mertens wins: +$142.50. Fernandez goes through: the $150 is lost. A retirement or a walkover before the match: refund. The stake follows the gap between my probability and the market’s, without overdoing it; you can break the calculation down with the staking calculator. This bet will join my public record, won or lost, as always. 18+. Only bet what you can afford to lose.