Elise Mertens vs. Eugenie Bouchard, Montreal R1 Preview

?? Rogers Cup, Montreal R1 Preview
?? (14) Elise Mertens vs. ?? (wc) Eugenie Bouchard

The face of Canadian tennis will begin her Rogers Cup campaign on Tuesday, Eugenie Bouchard will face a tough test when she takes on the 14th seeded Elise Mertens. This has been a good match-up for Mertens in the past and the Belgian has been one of the most consistent players on tour in 2018, does Bouchard have it in her to step it up and o cause a big upset at home?

Elise Mertens started her North American hard court swing in style last week as she reached the semi-finals in San Jose. A noteworthy straight set win over Johanna Konta was the highlight of the week in San Jose, however the week did end in disappointment as Mertens seemed to break down physically in her semi-final loss to Mihaela Buzarnescu from a set up. It will be interesting to see where Mertens is at physically in Montreal.

Eugenie Bouchard has dropped down to the ITF level of late, playing a couple of lower level tournaments on clay after Wimbledon. Bouchard will begin her North American hard court swing in Montreal, the Rogers Cup has typically not been a successful tournament for Bouchard, she has struggled to deal with the pressure and attention she receives when playing at home.

Mertens crushed Bouchard in their only previous meeting at the tour level, a 6-2 6-0 win on grass in s-Hertogenbosch in 2016. More recently, Mertens defeated Bouchard 6-4 6-4 at the Hopman cup in January this year.

To view my analysis / prediction for this match: Click here