Elise Mertens said she has been getting advice from her idol and Belgian great Kim Clijsters as her winning in the Australian Open quarter-finals yesterday
Elise Mertens
Elise Mertens said she has been getting advice from her idol and Belgian great Kim Clijsters as her winning in the Australian Open quarter-finals yesterday. The unseeded Melbourne Park debutant blew away World No. 4 Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-0 to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final. Mertens, 22, trains at the Clijsters Academy back home and revealed she had been receiving messages of advice from the four-time Grand Slam winner. "Yeah, of course, a lot of time. She has been here before. She has the experience, so it's always nice to talk to her," she said of Clijsters. "And also, for the emotions, to see what she has to tell me or can, yeah, communicate."
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Meanwhile, Svitolina complained of being hampered by a hip injury. "You know, she played great tennis. Long rallies. I couldn't push on the serve," said crestfallen fourth seed Svitolina, who saw her own nine-match unbeaten run after winning Brisbane ended abruptly. "I gave her this chance to play well, and she did it."
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