Belgian qualifier Elise Mertens is into the Hobart International 2017 singles final. The 21-year-old world No.127 moved into her first WTA final with a 6-4 6-0 semifinal win over Croatian Jana Fett today.
“I didn’t expect it at all, so it’s a surprise,” Mertens said of her career-best performance which is projected to catapult her ranking into the world’s top 100 for the first time.
Mertens needed only 70 minutes to advance, hitting four aces and winning 72 per cent of first serve points in a dominant display against her No.340-ranked opponent.
“My serve went pretty well today, I’m happy about that,” she said.
Fett grew frustrated as the match progressed and only managed to win 11 points in the second set.
“It just didn’t happen today,” 20-year-old Fett lamented.
“The conditions were pretty tough and I just think she managed to play way better.
“I was pretty negative on myself and nervous because of the wind I think. I couldn’t serve as well as the previous matches.”
> Finish this sentence… Elise Mertens
Mertens now meets Romanian third seed Monica Niculescu in tomorrow’s final. The world no.40 advanced after a viral illness forced Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko to withdraw ahead of their scheduled semifinal match.
> Read: Tsurenko withdraws