By Alberto Amalfi | Sunday, October 22, 2023
Second-seeded Elise Mertens tore through nine straight games dismissing top-seeded Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-0, to successfully defend her Monastir title.
Photo credit: MarcRic/Wikimedia Commons
Elise Mertens remains untouchable in Tunisia.
Mertens tore through nine straight games dismissing top-seeded Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-0, to successfully defend her Monastir title today.
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The second-seeded Mertens scored her 10th consecutive win in Tunisia, raising her Monastir record to a perfect 10-0.
Elise loves Monastir. Monastir loves Elise ❤️@elise_mertens defends her title with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over top seed Paolini 👏#JasminOpen pic.twitter.com/zH4tcNYA8f
— wta (@WTA) October 22, 2023
It is the eighth career championship for Mertens, who won her first title since she thrashed Alizé Cornet 6-2, 6-0 in the 2022 Monastir final.
The 27-year-old Belgian improved to 8-4 lifetime in WTA finals. Paolini, playing as a top seed in a WTA tournament for the first time in her career, fell to 1-3 in Tour-level finals.
In the 2022 and 2023 Monastir semifinals and finals, Mertens has dropped a total of just 12 games. I
Today’s final was the fifth title match between the top two seeds on the WTA Tour in 2023.
Deadlocked at 3-3, Mertens rolled through 12 of the next 15 points to snatch a one-set lead.
Whoops 🙊😆@elise_mertens | #JasminOpen pic.twitter.com/qviPYPGlLU
— wta (@WTA) October 22, 2023
Swinging freely, Mertens stamped a love hold for a 5-0 second-set lead. Mertens converted her fourth championship point to close her eighth career title.
