Elina Svitolina Loses a Hard-Fought Battle Against Elisa Mertens at WTA Melbourne 2021

Published 02/05/2021, 6:22 AM EST

Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina took on Belgium’s Elise Mertens in the quarterfinal of the WTA 500 Melbourne 2021. It was their fifth meeting, with the World No. 5 and Ukrainian leading 4-1. However, in their sixth meeting, the Belgian won the match without much difficulty, 6-3 5-7 10-6 to advance into the semifinal.

Prior to the quarterfinals, Elise Mertens beat Japan’s Mayo Hibi and France’s Caroline Garcia. On the other hand, Elina Svitolina beat Germany’s Andrea Petkovic and former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.

Elise Mertens Takes Control of First Set Breaking Elina Svitolina’s Serve

Article continues below this ad

The match began with the Belgian serving, and she struck early, handing her opponent the first break of the match. After 30 minutes, Mertens served for the opening set and clinched it 6-3. Both players served fairly well, but it was Mertens who handled the tough situations better and saved three breakpoints on her serve.

As the second set began, Elina served and faced a few hiccups, before holding her serve at 1-0. In the third game of the second set, the Belgian struck a break and consolidated by holding her serve. In the following game, she took advantage of Elina’s serve and broke her immediately, to serve at 5-2. However, Svitolina made a sensational comeback, from 2-5 down, and saved three match points to eventually snatch the second set 7-5.

In the final tiebreaker, the Belgian regrouped and raced to a 5-0 lead. After 1 hour and 55 minutes, Mertens sealed the final tiebreaker 10-6.

Article continues below this ad

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Elise Mertens (@mertenselise)

The 2018 Australian Open semifinalist will now face three-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka in the semifinal of the WTA 500 Melbourne 2021 event.

Article continues below this ad

After that, players will focus on the first Grand Slam, the Australian Open 2021. During last year’s Grand Slam event, Elina lost in the third round, whereas Elise lost in the fourth round.

Australian Open 2021 Draw: Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka in Same Half, Ashleigh Barty Receives Easy Path

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Rohan Kollare is a tennis author for EssentiallySports. Rohan has a post-graduate diploma in Sports Management and a trophy cabinet adorned with accolades won in district and state-level tennis competitions. He has previously worked in Content Operations for Disney’s Hotstar for over a year, covering tennis and Formula One.

Elina Svitolina Loses a Hard-Fought Battle Against Elisa Mertens at WTA Melbourne 2021

Elise Mertens Takes Control of First Set Breaking Elina Svitolina’s Serve

Trending

‘RIP’ – Heartbroken Brother of John McEnroe Mourns ESPN Legend’s Tragic Death Who Last Tweeted About Coco Gauff

Serena Williams’ Husband Alexis Ohanian Gushes Over Her ‘Little Pink’ Attire as Part of Nike’s Latest Endeavor

‘Have Him F**King Walk Out with Rafa’- Andy Roddick Imagines Emotional Scenario That Brings Roger Federer Together with His Beloved Rival

‘Got Them a $92,000 Motor Home’- Venus and Serena Williams’ Childhood Coach Rick Macci Reveals Lavish Money Spent Based on ‘King’ Richard’s Confidence

Mutua Madrid Open: Heart-Broken Taylor Townsend Makes Shattering Admission About Missing Son’s Martial Arts Performance