Tuesday at the 2018 Australian Open featured two quarterfinals from the bottom half of the draw and we have our first semifinal pair, Belgian Elise Mertens vs. Danish Caroline Wozniacki.
In the first quarterfinal, the 37th-ranked Mertens, making her debut in the main draw at Melbourne Park, dominated fourth seed Elina Svitolina on Rod Laver Arena 6-4 6-0 and recorded her first Top 5 victory. The 22-year-old Belgian, who trains at Kim Clijsters’ academy, dictated points against her higher-ranked opponent, going to the net and stepping up her offense.
It was a match between two players on winning streaks, as the Lotto-clad Mertens, the first Belgian to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since Kirsten Flipkens at Wimbledon 2013, was coming off a successful title defense at the Hobart International, while Svitolina lifted the Brisbane International champion’s trophy in the period leading up to the Australian Open.