Svitolina, who made her comeback to the tour in April after the birth of her daughter, recently reached the quarter-finals of the French Open and started her Wimbledon campaign with a commanding victory over five-time champion Venus Williams.
The 28-year-old began the match against Belgium’s Mertens in impressive fashion, racing through the first set with two breaks of serve. She displayed glimpses of the form that propelled her to the semi-finals in 2019.
However, Svitolina faced a challenging task in the second set as Mertens gained momentum, taking a commanding 5-0 lead. Mertens eventually levelled the match on serve, punctuating the set with a powerful overhead smash.
In the decisive third set, former world number three Svitolina seized the opportunity and broke Mertens’ serve in the second game with a blistering backhand down the line. Regaining the momentum, Svitolina maintained her composure and closed out the victory.
With the victory, Svitolina set up a third-round encounter with American Sofia Kenin, a former major champion who defeated China’s Wang Xinyu 6-4, 6-3 in her second-round match.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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