PREVIEW Guadalajara Open Final: 17-year-old Iva Jovic attempts to win first WTA title against imperious Colombian Emiliana Arango

A tournament that given its perchance for not featuring the big names it offered on the original Entry List was always going to produce a bit of a strange final and it has but also one tat produces a story in either winner at the Guadalajara Open.

Going into the Guadalajara Open Final, Iva Jovic has often been touted as the next cab off the rank so to speak in American tennis. The American of Serbian origin at the age of 17 is part of a unique set of players showing age is no object. Victoria Mboko, Maya Joint and even Mirra Andreeva are very much of a similar ilk of having early success straight after juniors and Jovic is one of those.

Always a bit of a talking point when she enters a draw in regards to when she faces big names and pushes them, Jovic has had a great week and has been a player to seriously take advantage. She will reach the top 50 this week come what may for the first time after a year that has seen her reach the second round on debut at Indian Wells as well as wins at the Australian Open, French Open and also a title in Ilkley before the grass court season. She made her top 100 deut back then.

She has also picked up wins over Linda Noskova, Anastasia Potapova and Aliaksandra Sasnovich in recent weeks in the build up and during the US Open so is a player garnering a bit of a head of steam. But of course this is her biggest final of her fledgling career thus far as she faces Emiliana Arango.

So far this week, she saw off another rising star in Nikola Bartunkova last round. This after wins over Katarzyna Kawa, Camila Osorio, Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva prior to that. Three out of her four games have been three setters too so likely expect another here. So getting her first title will not be done the easy way that is for sure.

Her opponent perhaps goes into the final as the marginal favourite albeit not on paper but with a look at her past record. That is Emiliana Arango who loves playing in Mexico ala Emma Navarro or Maria Sakkari.

Arango in a statistic confirmed yesterday has 70% of her ranking points and likely more now she has reached the final coming from Mexican events. She reached the final of Merida losing to Navarro. She now has reached the final of this facing Jovic. That accounts for 350 and 325 points.

In Cancun, she won a WTA 125k earlier in the year. While she reached the Quarter-Finals of Guadalajara also in the WTA 125 last week which was won by Alexandra Eala. That is 827 of 1,180 points.

She has seen off Elsa Jacquemot this week who had Maria Sakkari's number in the opener a player that usually is a dead cert for some kind of a run in Mexico. She won 6-4, 7-5 against the Frenchwoman. Prior to that, Marina Stakusic the rising Canadian was beaten 6-2, 6-3. No Leylah Fernandez but Stakusic and Rebecca Marino stood out this week.

Prior to that she saw off Storm Hunter and Magda Linette. The 24-year-old was born in Medellin but resides in Florida and will also had towards the top 50. She will break into the top 50 if she wins the title. Both players head into this final around the same ranking so it should be evenly matched.

Arango of course being older has had previous success. She reached a the Quarter-Finals of this tournament when it used to be a WTA 1000 tournament. She defeated Potapova, Stephens and Townsend and became World No.120 as a result. Last year saw her make her first WTA 125 final to continue that incremental development.

While this year saw her win her first WTA 125 title as was mentioned defeating Carson Branstine in the final to win in Cancun. She also had her superb run in Merida so can she add another title in Mexico. As a result she should be favoured as despite it being a first main tour title for either, she has success in Mexico.

She lost last time out though in a WTA 500 final in Merida to Navarro in just 55 minutes in a double bagel. Can she avoid a similar fate to another American? They haven't played before so it is very much anyone's game.