23 Jan '18

Mertens in semi-finals as winning streak continues

Summary

Flemish tennis player Elise Mertens has left her former place at 35 on the WTA rankings far behind as she moves into the semi-finals of the Australian Open

 

Master of Melbourne

Elise Mertens has performed beyond all expectations at the Australian Open, continuing a winning streak that started last week. Yesterday, the 22-year-old beat the number four seeded Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-0 to clinch a place in the final four.

Mertens’ win yesterday makes her the first Belgian to make the semi-finals of the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne since Kim Clijsters in 2012. Mertens seems to have become more confident, playing more aggressively with every win.

“I don’t even know what to say,” Mertens told the cameras after the match against Svitolina. “I gave it my all today, of course. It was a little stressful towards the end, but I played my game, and it went well today.”

Svitolina was the absolute favourite to win the match; this is the first time Mertens has beaten a top five seeded player. Mertens was able to react defensively to Svitolina’s serve, which sports commentators note has improved this season. Mertens won 28 of 52 points on the serve of the Ukrainian player.

Support from Clijsters

“She’s a really strong player,” said Mertens on the court following the match. “I knew it was going to be tough. I tried to play aggressively and make her move and come to the net a bit more.”

Mertens trains at the Kim Clijsters Academy in Bree, and Clijsters has been in contact with her since her arrival in Australia. Clijsters has also commented that Mertens coach, Robbe Ceyssens, has never gotten enough credit because he is also Mertens’ partner. “Since we’ve been working together, I’ve only gotten better, so all credit to him,” said Mertens.

The international tennis press is full of praise for Mertens, who has thus far “flown under the radar,” according to the Australia Open on Twitter.

Mertens semi-final match will be on Thursday sometime in the early morning Belgian time.

Photo: Patrick Hamilton/BELGA

Now read this

Flemish tennis

Winning four Grand Slams and two US Opens, Kim Clijsters single-handedly put Flemish tennis on the map in the late 2000s, and paved the way for the next generation of talented younger players like Yanina Wickmayer and Kirsten Flipkens.
Women on top - Before Clijsters arrived on the scene, Sabine Appelmans had long been Flanders’ most famous tennis player. She made it to number 17 on the WTA ranking.
Telly - Clijsters’ successes and massive popularity led the Flemish broadcaster VRT to sign a five-year contract to broadcast the Wimbledon tournament.
Boost - During Clijsters’ years at the top, the number of tennis players in Flanders increased by 40%.
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Clijsters wins her first Grand Slam

16

Grand Slam tournaments played by Clijsters

20

weeks Clijsters ranked number 1

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