WTA roundup: Elise Mertens rallies in Singapore

No. 2 seed Elise Mertens of Belgium brushed off a loss in a first-set tiebreaker and got past Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-1 on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Singapore Tennis Open.

Mertens rallied from a 3-0 hole in the first set to get to the tiebreaker, only to squander a 3-0 head start by losing seven straight points. She cleaned up her game in the second and third sets and won 11 of her 13 first-service points in the dominant third frame.

Chinese fourth seed Xinyu Wang was a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Australia’s Maya Joint. Wang advanced to face Switzerland’s Jil Teichman, who defeated Australian Olivia Gadecki 6-4, 6-4.

It wasn’t all bad news for the Aussies, as Kimberly Birrell got past American Hailey Baptiste in two hours and 50 minutes, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5. Birrell saved 9 of 11 break points and absorbed nine aces by Baptiste.

Upper Austria Ladies Linz

Russia’s Anna Blinkova sent No. 2 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine packing with a 6-4, 6-4 victory in the Round of 16 in Linz, Austria.

Blinkova saved 9 of 14 break points while breaking Svitolina’s serve on 7 of 14 chances. Czech top seed Karolina Muchova had better luck than Svitolina, cruising to a 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain.

Fourth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia and fifth seed Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine advanced in straight sets. Croatia’s Petra Martic bounced No. 7 seed Elina Avanesyan of Armenia 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

–Field Level Media