Lin Zhu vs Elise MertensDubai Round of 64

Dubai · WTA · Round of 64
#130WTA
1674ELO
1647Hard ELO
32 yrs · 173 cm · Right-handed
Last 10 · pre-match
LWWLWLWWWL
2 — 1
Sets
Monday, 18 February 2019
hard
#24WTA
1894ELO
1847Hard ELO
$1.6MYTD
$19MCAREER
30 yrs · 179 cm · Right-handed
Last 10 · pre-match
LWWWWLWLWL
Zhu L.
5-7 6-4 7-5
Mertens E.
Zhu L.
5672
Mertens E.
7451

Lin Zhu defeated Elise Mertens 5-7 6-4 7-5 in the Dubai round of 64 on hard. The upset overturned the form book — Elise Mertens came in ranked #24, leading the head-to-head 4–0, defending last year's round of 32. Lin Zhu claimed a first win over Elise Mertens in five meetings, narrowing the head-to-head to 4–1.

Key context

Head to head

04
DateTournamentRoundSurfaceWinnerScore
2026-01-05United CupRRhardElise Mertens6-2 6-2
2021-06-28WimbledonR64grassElise Mertens6-2 6-0
2021-02-08Australian OpenR64hardElise Mertens7-6(8) 6-1
2018-10-08TianjinR32hardElise Mertens7-5 6-1

Serve vs return

This season
Zhu L.serving69% hold

wins 58% of points on serve vs Mertens E.

Mertens E.serving73% hold

wins 60% of points on serve vs Zhu L.

Serve advantage — Mertens E.

Each player's serve crossed against the other's return, converted to expected hold of serve. Recent completed matches, ATP, WTA & Challenger. About

Serve & return on hard

Zhu L.Mertens E.
14
Serve
51
60
Return
54

Per-surface Serve / Return Rating (0–100, percentile within the hard field, opponent-adjusted over 52 weeks). About

Statistics

This season
1st serve in·Slight edge
66%
56%
1st serve points won·Slight edge
62%
68%
2nd serve points won·Even
48%
46%
Service points won·Even
57%
58%
Return points won·Even
44%
45%
Break points saved·Even
55%
55%
Aces / match·Clear edge
1.7
3.9
Double faults / match·Dominant
2.2
5.1

Averages over each player's completed matches in the selected window (200 vs 200). ATP, WTA & Challenger.

Clutch

Under pressure
Clutch Rating·Dominant
37
80
Break points saved·Dominant
64
90
Break points won·Slight edge
91
96
Deciding sets·Dominant
15
76
Tiebreaks·Slight edge
65
75

Performance in the biggest moments — break points, deciding sets and tiebreaks (0–100, higher is better). About

Freshness

Recent load
Freshness·Clear edge
100
84

Zhu L.: 19 days rest · Mertens E.: 6 days rest · 1 match, 21 games (7d). Higher means fresher. About

Conditions

Court speed
Mediumbalanced pace
SlowFast
Weather
22°CPartly cloudy
Wind 27 km/hHumidity 41%

Draw