Mubadala Citi DC Open: Kasatkina defeats Mertens to set Svitolina clash in last 16
Daria Kasatkina won against Elise Mertens 6-3, 7-5 on Tuesday night. She’ll face Ukrainian wildcard Elina Svitolina in the next round
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Russian Daria Kasatkina, the No 5 seed, won against Belgian Elise Mertens 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the last 16 of the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Tuesday night.
It was sweet revenge for world No 11 Kasatkina, who rectified her loss at the Miami Masters earlier this year to Mertens by dishing out a straight sets win in the final match of the night at the Citi Open. The Russian was accurate behind her serve, landing 73% of first serves, but it was on the second serve return where the No 5 seed thrived, winning 68% of the time when Mertens had a second serve.
The win sets up a mouth-watering encounter in the round of 16 in Washington, with Kasatkina squaring off against in-form Ukrainian wildcard Elina Svitolina next. Svitolina overcame former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka earlier in the day, to continue her hot patch of form after returning to the WTA Tour.
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