Elise Mertens spectacularly reached the final of the WTA tournament in Rosmalen on Saturday. The Belgian tennis player survived eleven match points against Ekaterina Alexandrova: 2-6, 7-6 (7) and 6-4.
Mertens initially seemed to have no chance. Alexandrova won the first set within half an hour and got her first match points in the second set at a score of 5-4 on Mertens’ (WTA-25) serve.
The Belgian equalized by erasing five match points, but was not out of danger yet. Alexandrova (WTA-19) later got another six match points in the set.
The Russian, who won the Rosmalen grass tournament in 2022 and 2023, succumbed to the pressure at crucial moments and made many mistakes.
Mertens forced the tiebreak and translated her mental advantage into a set win. In the deciding set, she struck on her second match point. She had not previously reached the last four in Rosmalen.
In the final, Mertens will face the winner of the semi-final between Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse and Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto, who had won against Suzan Lamens in the quarter-finals.