Elise Mertens impresses in Doha after she conquers her 5th career title.
Currently ranked no.21, the Belgian came from absolutely nowhere to win the title after stunning Angelique Kerber in the semifinal and Simona Halep in the final in 3 sets on both occasions.
The final
Simona Halep looked to be in complete control especially after leading 6-3 2-0 (the Romanian won 18 consecutive points from the 7th game). Then it was time for the Belgian to strike back to win 8 of the following 10 games and lead 3-6 6-4 2-0. However, Halep is well-known for never giving up, and she managed to make it even (2-2). Probably the critical game was the 5th of the decider when Simona was broken after leading 40-30 (3-2). That was it as Mertens consolidated her lead (4-2) and she won the match after breaking Simona for the 7th time in the last game. The final score was 3-6 6-4 6-3.
Consistency is key. MERTENS
After the match, Elise commented
“It’s a big moment for me, getting this victory. Of course playing in a Grand Slam and getting the semis is really a great achievement, but I wanted a step further to get this trophy.
Playing against those Top 10 players, which I back to back did this week, and especially also with the tennis I played, I think this one would be the nicest victory.
Consistency is one of the key things to be a top player. I think Kiki Bertens already did a good job showing that last year and this year. That was a really tough match for me, but I think they were all good matches, all a part of the process that I made this week.”
After this week Mertens will go up 5 places to be ranked no.16 while Halep will be back to world no.2.
5TH CAREER TITLE
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