Elise Mertens shines in comeback win over Halep at the Madrid Open

Elise Mertens came back from being a set down to win against Simona Halep at the Madrid Open.

The Belgian player was sensational today against the 2x champion Madrid Open champion Halep. Simona entered the game well and played her aggressive playstyle heavily reliant on the forehand. For the most part, she was able to bypass the defence of Mertens and it was enough for a 6-4 2nd set win.

The 2nd set was a mess by Halep as she found herself down early 2-0. She broke Mertens to make it 2-1 but lost her serve once again to make it 3-1. Halep once again broke Mertens and this time around she tied it at 3-3. It looked like she turned the corner when she took a 4-3 lead being a break up.

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But Mertens went on a 4-0 run to win the 2nd set 7-5. Halep was growing increasingly frustrated but she seemed to vent that anger into focus early in the 3rd set. She took an early break and lead 3-1 before she completely falling apart later.

She won only two of the next six games losing the set 5-7 and the match. Mertens moved well in the 3rd set and her defence was tough to break down for Halep. She committed too many errors late and the Belgian moved on to the quarterfinals after two hours and 36 minutes of play.

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A first #MMOPEN quarterfinal for the Belgian! 🇧🇪 @elise_mertens comes from a set down to upset the two-time Madrid champion 👏

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