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Mixed martial arts Ann Li vs Elizabeth Mandlik Abierto Tampico Expert Tip: Li the Better Player in All American Matchup
Ann Li vs Elizabeth Mandlik (Abierto Tampico): Wednesday, October 25th
We split our first two days of previews in Tampico, as Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva loses late Monday night, while Emina Bektas cruises home in straight sets on Tuesday.
For Wednesday, we’ll remain at the 125K Abierto Tampico for our WTA preview and look at Ann Li vs Elizabeth Mandlik.
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In this article:
- Ann Li vs Elizabeth Mandlik Expert Tip
- Ann Li Recent Form
- Elizabeth Mandlik Recent Form
- Ann Li vs Elizabeth Mandlik H2H Stat of the Match
- Gamble Responsibly
Ann Li vs Elizabeth Mandlik Expert Tip
Don’t think there’s a huge edge in this matchup, but I am more confident in Li of the two Americans who can both struggle with unforced errors at times.
In rather windy conditions (it feels like almost every day has been pretty windy now at this event in each of the last two seasons), if one player was much steadier than the other from the baseline, then I’d look to back them.
I’m not sure that is the case between these two, and I give Li the edge on serve and on the forehand side more than I think Mandlik has the advantage on the backhand wing.
Further, the Mandlik second serve has been a major liability all season. With the lack of pace she hits that shot with, the wind could cost her on several fronts. For starters, it could carry a few of those balls out of play and result in double faults. The other concerning part of that serve is if the wind takes any well-placed serve that may not be attackable and brings it back into Li’s ideal strike zone.
Odds as at 3:00 am UK Time on October 25th, 2023. Odds may now differ.
Read on for more expert insights.
Ann Li Recent Form
Talk about a player that has had a terrible time getting her game back up off the ground. Li at one point had made her way into the world’s top-150 at a very young age a few years back.
At present, she’s at world No. 156, as she’s spent much of 2022 and 2023 trying to regain her form.
She has a decent serve, a lovely forehand that she can hit into all areas of the court and once had pretty decent rally tolerance to make her a really tough out for all but a handful of players on tour.
The latter point has completely abandoned her, however, and has seen almost any player that can keep the ball in play for long stretches and track down her shots able to beat her.
Since August, Li has shown some signs of life on the court. She managed to qualify for Cincinnati and make the second round, even taking a set off of Aryna Sabalenka in her loss there, and has relatively close losses to both Sloane Stephens and Taylor Townsend – two fellow Americans that are mainstays at the moment on the main tour.
Coming back from a set down against the tough Heather Watson is also an encouraging sign, as Li looks poised to potentially use the 125K events on the calendar to potentially push her way back towards the top-100 in the rankings.
Elizabeth Mandlik Recent Form
The 22-year-old’s 2023 season has actually been a fairly strong indicator of her game as a whole.
With a lot of inconsistency to her game and a few noticeable vulnerabilities, the fact that she’s exited tournaments in the early stages so often this season is of no real surprise.
With her flat hitting and really strong backhand, however, it’s also not much of a shock to see that she’s made a WTA quarterfinals in Nottingham (as a qualifier) and been to a 125K final in Reus, Spain, as well as a WTA quarterfinal in Osaka (again, as a qualifier). What’s more impressive is that each of her three best results have come on different surfaces, showcasing that her game isn’t really limited by the surface she’s playing on.
I’m not the biggest fan of her game, simply because it’s not very repeatable and doesn’t lend itself to long-term sustainability, but on her day she’s a very strong player.
Even though I don’t believe she’s well positioned to win this match, it must be said that flatter hitting is fairly well equipped to deal with the wind, as it tends to cut through it more effectively and get carried out of play less often. So at least she has that going for her.
Ann Li vs Elizabeth Mandlik H2H – Stat of the Match
I’m actually surprised that these two haven’t squared off before. Not only are they of a very similar age, but they’re both American. At the very least, I’d expect that the two have played a few times during the many American events on the ITF Tour that happen each season.
Perhaps Li making the jump to the WTA Tour so early has prevented them from meeting on the pro circuit before now, but her drop back down out of the top-150 has remedied that.
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