Belgian third seed Elise Mertens beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-3 7-6 (4) in the final of the Libema Open in Den Bosch on Sunday to claim her second WTA Tour title of the year, adding to her victory in the Singapore Tennis Open in February.
The win earned Mertens her tenth WTA singles title and first on grass, though she has won the Wimbledon women’s doubles title in 2021, while also extending her winning head-to-head record against Ruse to 4-0.
“It’s been an incredible week,” said Mertens, who had to dig deep to save 11 match points and overcome two-times winner Ekaterina Alexandrova in Saturday’s semifinal.
“I mean yesterday I had 11 match points against me. I managed to still win that match. It’s tennis, anything can happen. So I’m very proud that I took that chance yesterday and today.”
Mertens trailed 3-1 in the first set after being put under early pressure by the Romanian qualifier.
The Belgian recovered from her shaky start and saved two break points to secure a crucial hold in the fifth game, which turned the tide of the contest.
The set was brought back on serve at 3-3 after Ruse double-faulted twice, and Mertens quickly reeled off three more games to clinch the opener, with Ruse taking a lengthy medical timeout between the sets and having her thigh strapped.
The pair traded breaks halfway through the second set and Ruse was able to earn two set points at 5-4, but Mertens showed great resilience to hold serve and force a tiebreaker, which she powered through with little trouble.
“First of all, I would like to congratulate Elise. You beat me every time, so what can I say,” said Ruse, who committed seven double faults in the match.
“I’m really sad and angry, but I will try next time… I’m very proud of myself. I didn’t expect to be in the final here. It’s such a nice tournament.”
