Elise Mertens says she’s trying to follow in the footsteps of former Belgian champion Kim Clijsters after making her first grand slam semi-final.
The unseeded 22-year-old, playing for the first time at the Australian Open, took a giant step by shocking world No.4 Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-0 on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday.
Svitolina was a pre-tournament title favourite and in line to take over the world No.1 ranking with success at Melbourne Park.
Mertens trains at the Kim Clijsters Academy in Belgium, with the four-time grand slam champion – including the Open title in 2011 – regularly in contact.
“I’m trying to follow in your footsteps this week,” Mertens said when asked post-match if she had a message for Clijsters.
The 22-year-old, who started 2017 ranked outside the top 100, has had a brilliant start to the year, winning the Hobart International for the second time.
Mertens stunned Svitolina with her fearless groundstrokes, hitting 26 winners to the Ukrainian’s 14.
She said she went out trying to put pressure on Svitolina, aware that she too had never made it past a grand slam quarter-final despite also being unbeaten this year.
“I played my game well today,” Mertens said.
“She is a great mover, strong player and she started well at the beginning of her year so I knew it was going to be tough.
“I tried to play aggressive and make her come to the net a bit more and yes try to play aggressive.”
Mertens will take on Danish second seed Caroline Wozniacki or Spanish veteran Carla Suarez Navarro in Thursday’s semi-finals.