Mertens stuns Halep to win Qatar Total Open

Doha: Unseeded Elise Mertens of Belgium yesterday capped her dream run in Doha by beating former champion Simona Halep in three sets to lift the Qatar Total Open trophy.

Playing just her sixth career final, Mertens rallied from a set down to beat Halep 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in two hours 13 minutes on the Center Court.

Mertens, who beat three-time Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber in the semi-finals on Friday, even defied back spasms in the middle of the second set to script her sensational title win.

It was her second successive win over a top-10 player in as many days.

Mertens won $158,895 for her efforts over the weekend.

“It has been a great week. I am so happy. I had only the coach with me this week but I know I worked really hard,” Mertens, the world no.21, said.

“This is a big win. Simona is a great player. I saw many Belgian flags today. I want to thank everyone who came out tonight.

“I would also like to commend the organisers Qatar Tennis Federation for putting together a great event. Everybody is so helpful here,” the 23-year old added.

“I hope I can come back here for many more years,” she added with a smile.

Halep, playing her second final at the Khalifa Tennis Complex, was gracious in defeat.

“I wanted to win the Falcon Trophy again but Elise played a great match. She fully deserved to win today,” Halep, 27, said.

“I had some fantastic days of tennis last week and this week. Doing well at the Fed Cup was huge. I played a great tournament here in Doha this week as well,” the 2017 French Open champion said.

“I would like to thank Qatar for hosting us. I love coming here. I play some of my best tennis in Doha and that’s why I do well here,” she added.

The three-set battle had its share of ups and downs but the title clash kicked off with a service break. Halep broke Mertens in the first game that lasted nine minutes. A long return from Mertens followed by a forehand down the line by Halep on fourth break point saw the former champion get her first service break.

Mertens, seemingly stung by her opponent’s service break, wasted little time in breaking Halep in game two. A couple of powerful forehand shots helped Halep to break her opponent for the second time in just three games. Halep rode her luck to jump to a 3-1 lead on her own serve.

In game six, Mertens broke an error-prone Halep to draw level at 3-all. Halep returned the compliment of breaking Mertens in game seven with an overhead volley.

A couple of forehand shots followed by an ace gave Halep a 5-3 cushion in the first set. In game nine, an unforced error at set point by Mertens saw Halep complete a run of 12 successive points to take the set in just 34 minutes.

Halep broke Mertens in game two of the second set to race to take 2-0 lead but the young Belgian broke the Romanian in game three.

After a medical timeout that lasted nine minutes, Mertens broke Halep to draw level at 2-all. Mertens broke Halep in game nine to race ahead to 5-4. A crushing backhand gave Mertens the second set at 6-4. It was all or nothing for both the players.

Mertens, enjoying a bit of fine rhythm in her movement, broke Halep in game 1 of the deciding set. The former Doha champion again broke Mertens in game four to draw level at 2-2 but lost her way in the next game to hand the advantage back to the Belgian. A long backhand by Halep on match point handed the set and the title to Mertens.

The Belgian slumped to the court in disbelief before getting up to gaze at the clear Doha night sky.

With tears streaming down her cheeks, Mertens shook hands with Halep and then quickly darted towards her coach David Taylor to celebrate the biggest win of her young career.

Overall Mertens fired two aces compared to 4 by Halep. It was Mertens’ first win over Halep in three meetings. Halep had never lost a set to Mertens prior to the final yesterday.