MELBOURNE, Jan 27, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona
Halep surged into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Monday with a
straight-sets victory over 16th seed Elise Mertens.
The fourth seed won 6-4, 6-4 and plays Estonian 28th seed Anett Kontaveit
or unseeded Polish teenager Iga Swiatek in the last eight in Melbourne.
Former world number one Halep, beaten in the 2018 final by Caroline
Wozniacki, has not dropped a set in four matches in Melbourne and the
Romanian looks in ominous form.
With her win, the 28-year-old will rise from third to second in the
rankings.
“I had to calm myself down because when I get a little bit nervous I get
crazy on court so I had to stay cool, to get energy from the box and play
without looking back,” she said, after some anxious moments in the second
set. After top seed Ashleigh Barty, Halep — last year’s Wimbledon champion
and a former French Open winner — is the highest remaining seed left in the
draw.
Second seed Karolina Pliskova, holder and third seed Naomi Osaka, and
history-chasing Serena Williams were among six top-10 seeds who lost in the
third round.
Halep defeated Belgium’s Mertens in two of their three previous meetings,
including in the last 16 of the French Open in 2018, when she went on to win
the title.
But Mertens prevailed the last time they met when she came from a set down
in the final in Doha last year.
Halep drew first blood at a sunny Rod Laver Arena when she broke Mertens
at the fourth break-point opportunity and consolidated for a 3-1 lead.
The 24-year-old Mertens, whose best performance at a Grand Slam came in
reaching the Australian Open semi-finals in 2018, broke back and then
stubbornly held serve for 4-3.
But Halep broke again for 5-4 and converted the fourth set point when
Mertens put a forehand into the net.
The Romanian began the second set with intent, breaking for another early
lead, but Mertens would not go quietly, breaking back as she piled on the
pressure.
The ninth game proved pivotal, as Halep finally got the break at the fifth
opportunity before serving out the match.