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Tennis
Elise Mertens knocked out Iga Swiatek 7-6 (0), 6-3 in Beijing, claiming her first career win over the Pole and reaching the China Open semi-finals after defeating three straight Grand Slam champions.
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Belgium's Elise Mertens produced the finest result of her season on Thursday, ousting eighth seed Iga Swiatek 7-6 (0), 6-3 to book a place in the China Open semi-finals. The match lasted one hour and 50 minutes, and the victory was Mertens' first against the Polish star in three career meetings on the WTA Tour.
What makes the run all the more remarkable is the calibre of opposition Mertens has dismantled along the way. She toppled Jelena Ostapenko and Coco Gauff in earlier rounds before adding Swiatek to the list - three consecutive Grand Slam champions felled in a single tournament. It is the first time in her career she has managed such a feat at one event, as ESPN reports.
The result sends Mertens into her first WTA 1000 singles semi-final since 2021, and only her third overall. Her previous best comparable run came during her 2019 title triumph in Doha, where she beat Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep en route to the trophy.
Swiatek's exit carried consequences beyond Beijing. Her defeat confirmed that both Mirra Andreeva and Linda Noskova have secured their spots at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells, where each will make a singles debut at the year-end championships.
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Eva Hernández, Editor-in-Chief
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