A year ago, Elise Mertens was ranked 127th in the world and didn’t even make it to the Australian Open because she was playing in a small tournament and couldn’t enter qualifiers.
On Tuesday, she reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament, beating fourth-seeded Elina Svitolina, 6-4, 6-0, in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
Mertens, 22, will next face Caroline Wozniacki, the No. 2 seed, or Carla Suárez Navarro — who, like Mertens, is unseeded.
Mertens is the first Belgian to reach the semifinals here since her mentor Kim Clijsters did six years ago.