Elise Mertens has won the tennis tournament in Rosmalen, the Netherlands, on Sunday. It is Mertens’ tenth WTA title, her first on grass. Zizou Bergs was unable to follow his compatriot’s example in Rosmalen and lost in the men’s final to Canadian Gabriel Diallo.
Mertens defeated Romanian Elena Gabriela Ruse in the final in two sets: 6-3 and 7-6 (7/4). She started hesitantly and faced a 1-3 deficit in the first set, but then picked up speed and won 6-3. In the second set, both players were evenly matched. Mertens then made the difference in the tiebreak.
The 29-year-old Mertens thus won her tenth WTA title, the first of her career on grass. She was already the best in Singapore this year. She previously won two titles in Hobart (2017 and 2018) and Monastir (2022 and 2023) and one each in Lugano (2018), Rabat (2018), Doha (2019) and Melbourne (2021).
On Saturday, Mertens made tennis history in the semi-finals by saving eleven match points against Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova. “I’m glad the tournament is over, after five matches and yesterday’s four-hour match,” Mertens told Sporza. “This is a fantastic tournament, I’m happy I was able to win here in my ‘backyard’.”
No first ATP title for Bergs
Zizou Bergs was unable to follow his compatriot’s example in the men’s final. The 26-year-old Belgian lost in two sets, 7-5 and 7-6 (10/8), to Canadian Gabriel Diallo. So it was Diallo, not Bergs, who won his first ATP title.
Diallo is no stranger to Bergs: the two train together regularly and will form a team for the doubles at Wimbledon. “Why today?” Bergs asked his training partner after the final, according to Sporza. “Why did you have to play so well? But I’m very happy for you and your team.”
