Elise Mertens of Belgium saved 11 match points in a victory over top-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova in Saturday’s semifinals of the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
According to the WTA Tour, that’s the most match points survived in a main draw women’s match this decade.
After dropping the first set 6-2, the third-seeded Mertens fell behind 5-4 in the second set to reach the brink of defeat.
Mertens, 29, fended off five match points to break the Russian’s serve in the 10th game, then saved five more for another break in the 12th game to force the tiebreak. Alexandrova again served for the match at 6-5 but Mertens escaped for the 11th time.
“I didn’t even know it was 11, after one or two I lost count,” Mertens said.
Mertens won 9-7 in the tiebreak and went on to complete a 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4 victory in just under three hours. She will face unseeded Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse in Sunday’s grass-court final.
–Field Level Media
