The pair had met four times before Wednesday's encounter at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha; Mertens had won three times to Kontaveit's one.

After seeing off three break points in game five of the first set, Kontaveit, ranked 7th in the world, went on to break her opponent's serve in the next game. Mertens, ranked 26th in the world, fended off having her serve brkoen again in game eight, only to lose the set 6:3 when Kontaveit held her next service game.

In set two, the roles were more than reversed as the Belgian didn't drop a game.

So dominant was Mertens play in the set that after the five games, she had dropped only three points.

In the second set, Mertens unexpectedly won a solid 6: 0, with the Belgian giving up just three points after the first five games, breaking Kontaveit's serve in game six.

The decider saw a return to form for Kontaveit, who immediately went 2:0 up. Three games later, the score was 3:2 in favor of the Estonian, who didn't drop another game and went on to take the set 6:2, and with it the match.

Kontaveit will meet the winner of Ons Jabeur (Tunisia, 10th in the world) or Tereza Martincova (Czech Republic, 42nd in the world), who have yet to play.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!