Her opponent also suffered by sending her 10 double faults, but Mertens provided “better”; 13 double faults, 47 percent first serve, resulting in 7 breaks.
By the way, Savile was not underestimated and Mertens was not underestimated either. As Gavrilova, she was number one in the junior world rankings in 2009 and was once 20th on the WTA list, until injuries interrupted her career.
Mertens finally lost 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 after 2 hours and 57 minutes. “It’s a shame I lost in 3 sets, but I struggled to the end. Savile returns a lot of balls and can dictate the match with a forehand.”
“My service was not extraordinary today,” was the underestimation of the excuse. “The courts are very slow this year, so it’s hard to beat the opponent and get free points on your serve.”
“I tried to be aggressive, but I made a lot of mistakes. So there was someone I missed a lot, so I had to take a risk.”
Mertens knew something that could have been done better: “I could have attacked her second ball more and pushed more, which I did really well in certain moments. However, I stuck with it, but it wasn’t enough. It’s like that now and I’m here to learn to pull back” .
The prestigious Indian Wells Championship does not suit Mertens. This year she won one match here, as in the previous three editions. Savile shines: In the previous round, she defeated 10th seed Anas Jabeur of Tunisia, in the final 1/8, awaited by Greek Maria Skari (WTA-6).
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