By Chris Oddo | Saturday April 14, 2018
Elise Mertens battled through two tough three-setters to take her place in the Samsung Open final in Lugano.
Photo Source: EFE
Second-seeded Elise Mertens won back-to-back three-setters to book her spot in the Samsung Open final on Saturday. The World No.20 has won three straight deciders in total after finishing off defending champion Marketa Vondrousova on Friday.
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It has been an incredibly solid year for the 22-year-old from Leuven, Belgium. She improves to 14-5 on the season and will bid for her second title of the season after finishing off Vera Lapko, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
Mertens, who reached the Australian Open semifinals in January, was well outside of the Top 100 when 2017 began.
Mertens spent a total of four hours and 41 minutes on court Saturday. She defeated Mona Barthel in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(0). In total, the Belgium has been on court for over seven hours in three rounds over the last two days.
The Belgian will face either Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Sabalenka cruised past wild card Stefanie Voegele, 6-4, 6-2, in the semis after blasting past Camila Giorgi 6-3, 6-0 in th quarterfinals. The Belarussian needed just 2:10 to get through her two matches on Saturday in Lugano.