Heather Watson to meet Elise Mertens in Hobart International tennis semifinals | Tennis News - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Heather Watson to meet Elise Mertens in Hobart International tennis semifinals

Reuters | ByReuters
Jan 11, 2018 04:17 PM IST

Heather Watson will face Elise Mertens in the Hobart International tennis semifinals after defeating Donna Vekic on Thursday.

Former champion Heather Watson capitalised on a fast start to race away from Donna Vekic and set up a semi-final encounter against last year’s winner Elise Mertens at the Hobart International on Thursday.

Heather Watson defeated Donna Vekic in the Hobart International tennis quarterfinals on Thursday.(AFP)
Heather Watson defeated Donna Vekic in the Hobart International tennis quarterfinals on Thursday.(AFP)

Watson needed to register two wins just to make the main draw but the Briton staved off her Croatian opponent’s late charge to prevail 6-0, 6-4 in the quarter-final contest.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

The 2015 champion won the first 11 games as she homed in on a double-bagel (6-0, 6-0) victory before the big-hitting Vekic finally established a foothold in the match.

READ | Roger Federer faces Aljaz Bedene first up in Australian Open tennis

Vekic reeled off four successive games and came within two points of levelling up the second set before Watson broke for a sixth time to seal the contest in a little more than an hour.

“She’s a big hitter, who can hit winners from pretty much anywhere,” Watson, who converted all but two of her eight break-point opportunities, told reporters.

“When that started to happen, the most important thing was not to panic. When you go that far up, it can feel a bit up and down when you lose the next four games, but I had to realise that I was still 5-4 up and playing well.”

Meanwhile, the repeat of last year’s title showdown failed to materialise after losing 2017 finalist Monica Niculescu of Romania pulled out with a neck injury, allowing Belgium’s Mertens to advance to the last four without hitting a ball.

READ | Rohan Bopanna, Edouard Roger-Vasselin lose to world no.1 team in Sydney tennis

Elsewhere, fifth seed Lesia Tsurenko ended Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka’s strong run with a 6-1 6-1 triumph to also secure a place in the last four.

The Ukrainian advances to meet Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu, who secured the last semi-final berth with a 7-6(5), 6-1 win over American Alison Riske.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On