Australian Open
© Belgian
Elise Mertens did not survive the second round of the Australian Open. The last Belgian representative in the singles had to give up against the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.
Mertens (WTA 28) lost in two hours and 55 minutes 5-7, 6-1 and 7-6 (10/6) against Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk (WTA 37). Mertens was the last Belgian singles participant in the first Grand Slam of the season. She played her seventh Australian Open. In her debut in 2018 she reached the semi-finals, which remains her best result in a Grand Slam tournament.
Now Mertens can fully concentrate on doubling the score. She is seeded second with Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-Wei. Yanina Wickmayer and Greet Minnen will be Thursday’s first-round opponents.
Today also former number one Caroline Wozniacki, who returned last summer after a three and a half year break due to the birth of her two children, was eliminated in the second round by Russian qualifier Maria Timofeeva. The 33-year-old Dane led one set, took the lead in the second set (2-0) and also in the third set (1-0), but Timofeeva then created a final gap in the decisive set with six games. The final score was 1-6, 6-4, 6-1.
And Tunisian Ons Jabeur, world number six and three-time Grand Slam finalist, also did not survive the second round. She was eliminated by Mirra Andreeva. The Russian, 47th in the rankings, needed two sets (6-0, 6-2) and less than an hour to win.
2024-01-17 13:00:40
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