Sabalenka and Mertens set up Upper Austria Ladies' Linz 2020 final

Aryna Sabalenka and Elise Mertens won their semifinal matches today and set up a great final for the Upper Austria Ladies' 2020 final.

Elise Mertens stepped onto the Linz courts first in her match against Ekaterina Alexandrova and the Russian proved better at the beginning taking the opening set 6-2 but Mertens came back to win the next two 6-1 7-5. Mertens could not match her intensity as she was striking the ball very hard and most of those shots were winners. In the 2nd set, things changed and most of those shots became unforced errors which gave Mertens the uplift she needed. Boosted in confidence she started playing better and won the 2nd set 6-1. The final set was a very exciting one that started with a bang where we saw three breaks in a row. Mertens ended up in the lead after that mess and she kept the lead until 5-4 when she lost her serve at a time when she served for the match.

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Determined not to allow Alexandrova to come back fully she calmed down, returned to what worked for her previously and ended the match with a 2 game mini-run to advance to the final. It took her over two hours but she got the job done and she will be happy about it.

The 2nd semifinal was played between Sabalenka and Krejcikova. The Czech player displayed a strong fighting spirit during the week winning several tight matches. She proved her spirit once more in the first set where she came back from an early break to tie it up. She held her own against Aryna for the majority of the set but ultimately succumbed late losing it 7-5. A similar thing happened in the 2nd set where she was down 2-0 but she came back to tie it 2-2. She even outdid herself by taking a late break in the set and then holding on to capture the 2nd set 6-4.

The final set was again a close affair as Krejcikova held on pretty well. At time it even seemed like she was the better player but slowly but surely Sabalenka started playing better which allowed her to win the final set 6-3. It is another final for Sabalenka who will be eager to win another trophy.

Be sure to check out our live score page here. You can follow matches as they go along and also all the results at the end of the day. 

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