WTA Hobart: Kessler beats two-time champ Mertens to claim second career title

American McCartney Kessler won the WTA Hobart International by beating two-time champion Elise Mertens, the second seed, in a three-set final on Saturday.

Kessler overcame the loss of the second set to bagel Mertens in the third and win 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 at Hobart’s Domain Tennis Centre. This is the second WTA singles title for the 25-year-old, who also won the Cleveland title last year.

Kessler, ranked No 67, defeated Slovak Rebecca Sramkova, the No 7 seed (6-3, 7-5), Argentinian qualifier Maria Lourdes Carle (6-2, 6-2), Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska, the top seed (7-5, 6-4) and Armenian Elina Avanesyan, the No 6 seed (4-6, 6-3, 6-4) earlier in the week.

With the win, Kessler is projected to climb to a new career-high ranking of No 46 in the world.

In the previous rounds of the tournament, Mertens, ranked No 34, defeated Spanish qualifier Nuria Parrizas Diaz (6-3, 6-1), Mexican lucky loser Renata Zarazua (6-4, 6-3), Russian Veronika Kudermetova (6-1, 0-6, 6-2) and Australian wildcard Maya Joint (6-2, 6-3).

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