By Tennis Now | Saturday, November 14, 2020

Doubles partners will face off in the Linz singles final.

Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka stopped Barbora Krejcikova 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 powering into her second straight final where she will play her good friend and doubles partner Elise Mertens in tomorrow's final.

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Earlier, Mertens battled back for a 2-6, 6-1, 7-5 triumph over fourth-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova to advance to her second final of the season.

The second-seeded Mertens took a 5-3 lead in the final set before Alexandrova broke back to level after 10 games. Mertens scored her sixth break of the match for a 6-5 lead then served out the semifinal at 30.

Mertens improves her WTA-leading 2020 win total to 34 with her victory (34-12), and she will bid for her sixth career title.

The big-hitting Sabalenka scored her eighth straight win charging into her second consecutive final.

"I didn't play my best, but I tried my best," Sabalenka said of her victory over Krejcikova. "I'm really happy that I could win it."

Last month, Sabalenka swept US Open finalist Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-2 in the all-Belarusian Ostrava final to collect her second title of the season. Sabalenka then partnered Mertens to capture the Ostrava doubles title.



The 11th-ranked Sabalenka, who knocked off Petra Kvitova to win the Doha championship in February, is playing for her eighth career title.

Sabelenka said she has made some big improvements in her game over the last three months with her new hitting partner turned coach. 

"We work a lot on my shots, to make sure I can play some short crosses," she said. "So we worked on a variation of a game, and also I think I improved and my return, so I improved everything with him."

Mertens and Sabalenka have won four doubles titles together, including the 2019 US Open championship. Sabalenka has won three of their five singles clashes, including a 6-4, 6-3 victory in the Dubai round of 16 earlier this year.