Expert
Elise Mertens has made an incredible start to 2018, but it’ll be another serious examination when she takes on world No.2 Caroline Wozniacki in the Australian Open semi-finals. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 2pm (AEDT).
Mertens missed the first grand slam of the year in 2017 and went on to rise through the world rankings to the point where she only just missed a seeding this time around.
It’s been a dramatic 12 months for the Belgian and her power game has served her well in Melbourne so far.
While she lost her first match of the season at the Hopman Cup to the in-form Angelique Kerber (who plays Simona Halep in the other semi-final), she hasn’t lost a match since, cruising through the Hopman Cup, Hobart International and now the Australian Open.
In 11 matches, she has lost just four sets of tennis and even more impressively, hasn’t lost a single set in Melbourne.
The two standout victories at this point are those against Australian Daria Gavrilova and more recently, world No.4 Elina Svitolina.
The second-round clash against Gavrilova at one point looked like it would be the end for Mertens. She found herself down 5-0 in the opening set and under all sorts of pressure, but won seven straight games to take the first set and win the second 6-3.
It was an entirely more convincing performance against Svitolina. Mertens dismantled her opponent, picking up a 6-4, 6-0 victory, racing away with the second set.
Wozniacki hasn’t exactly been in poor form either. Her only loss of the year so far came in the final of the ASB Classic in Auckland as she fell to world No.12 Julia Goerges.
In her nine other victories, she has dropped just three sets with two of those coming at the Open. In saying that, the set she lost to Carla Suarez Navarro in the quarter-final was in a tie-breaker, with the Dane dropping just two games in the other two sets.
Her form is impeccable and on court, there is nothing to fault her on. It’s going to make this an incredibly tough match-up for Mertens.
The pair have played once previously, late last year on clay, with Wozniacki winning in three sets. The winner of this match will play either Angelique Kerber or Simona Halep in the final.
Prediction
It’s hard to split the pair based on form, but the occasion and experience gap might be too much for Mertens to overcome here.
Wozniacki in three sets.
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