Kanepi loses to Mertens in Gippsland Trophy final
Kaia Kanepi (WTA 94) who reached a WTA final after a break of almost eight years lost the Gippsland Trophy title match to Belgian Elise Mertens (WTA 20) 4:6, 1:6.
The No.7-seeded Belgian defeated Kanepi, 6-4, 6-1, to collect her sixth career WTA singles title at the Gippsland Trophy in Melbourne. Mertens started strong in the opening set with a break that gave her a 3:0 lead. Even though Kanepi had a break of her own in the ninth, Mertens followed suit and ended up winning the opening set after 42 minutes.
The second set was more one-sided, with Kanepi only managing to win the sixth game. The match lasted one hour and 13 minutes. Kanepi had three aces to Mertens' five, while the latter realized all four break points, with the Estonian seizing one of two.
"Elise was just too good today," Kanepi said in a post-match interview. "Thank you, fans and Estonians – I heard you." Kanepi also thanked the Australian tennis association for organizing the tournaments.
Mertens congratulated Kanepi on a strong week with several victories and said she has no doubt Kanepi will go into the Australian Open with confidence.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
