MELBOURNE – A year after opting out of qualifying for the Australian Open, Elise Mertens has reached the semifinals in her debut at the season-opening Grand Slam.
Mertens upset fourth-seeded Elina Svitolina, 6-4, 6-0, on Tuesday to extend her winning streak to 10 matches and be the first woman through to the semifinals at Melbourne Park.
She’s the first Belgian since Kim Clijsters in 2012 to reach the semifinals in Australia, and knew she had plenty of support at home.
“Kim, thanks for watching, I knew you sent me a message before the match – don’t be too stressy,” said Mertens, who trains at Clijsters’ academy.
In men’s quarters, Briton Kyle Edmund upset No. 3-ranked Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, to reach the semifinals for the first time.
Edmund’s victory came on the heels of Korean Hyeon Chung’s stunning 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) upset over former champion Novak Djokovic late Monday.
The world No. 58 will next face another surprise quarterfinalist, Tennys Sandgren, who stunned fifth-seed Dominic Thiem, 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (7-9) 6-3.