WTA Hobart: Mertens wins thriller to make final
Elise Mertens edged out Daria Saville 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 on Friday. She’ll play the winner of Yue Yuan and Emma Navarro, the second seed, for the title
Belgian Elise Mertens, the top seed, edged out Australian wildcard Daria Saville 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the final of the Hobart International at the Hobart ’s Domain Tennis Centre on Friday night.
Mertens, ranked No 29, will face the winner of the match between Chinese qualifier Yue Yuan and American Emma Navarro, the second seed, next.
The Belgian beat American Danielle Collins (6-2, 6-3), Slovak qualifier Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (6-2, 6-3) and Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus (7-5, 6-0) in the previous rounds of the Hobart tournament.
Earlier in the tournament, Saville, ranked No 195, won against Russian Anna Blinkova (3-6, 6-4, 6-4), American Sofia Kenin, the No 6 seed (7-6 (3), 6-1) and Chinese Lin Zhu, the No 3 seed (3-6, 6-1, 6-4).
Hobart WTA 250, other semi-final (Hobart ’s Domain Tennis Centre, hard, USD 267.082):
- Yue Yuan vs. Emma Navarro