Doha: Belgium’s Elise Mertens continued here giant-killing act and rallied from a set down to beat top seed Simona Halep 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and clinch her first premier-level title at the Qatar Open tennis tournament, here Saturday night.
After both players dropped their opening service game, Halep took control of the encounter by winning 18 consecutive points from 3-3 to clinch the first set.
World No.3 Halep grabbed an early break in the second set but Mertens responded immediately to get the match back on serve. Unseeded Mertens held her nerve to fend off two breakpoints in the seventh game before she broke Halep’s serve to love en route to claiming her first set in six matches played against the Romanian.
With momentum firmly on her side, Mertens claimed a crucial early break in the deciding set and went on to hold off a late Halep surge to win her fifth WTA title.
Mertens, ranked 21 in the world, recorded three top-10 victories here this week, also beating Kiki Bertens and Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
“It feels really great, it was tough but I was determined to give it my all,” Mertens said after the match. “I think my game is slowly improving and today’s (Saturday) proved that. I think I just came up with the right shots at the right time,” added the Belgian.
Agencies
