By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday June 14, 2025
Elise Mertens has engineered a grass-court miracle to reach the final at ‘S-Hertognenbosch.
The Belgian saved 11 match points to defeat Ekaterina Alexandrova on Saturday, 2-6 7-6(7) 6-4.
Mertens saved five match points while serving at 4-5, then another five while serving at 5-6, She then saved her 11th match point in the tiebreak before going on to win the contest in a decider. She will play either qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse or Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
The 11 match points saved is thought to be the most ever saved in an WTA Tour match, though that isn’t an official WTA record. Wang Xinyu of China saved ten last year in a first-round win in Madrid over Viktoriya Tomova. 11 match points saved equals the ATP record – Adriano Panatta saved 11 in beating Kim Warwick in Rome in 1976.