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Ukrainian Svitolina came into the match riding
high on a nine-match winning streak from the start of the season
but, hampered by a hip injury, was completely outplayed by the
aggressive Belgian on Rod Laver Arena.
Barely putting a foot wrong over the entire contest, the world
number 37 sealed the victory and her first grand slam semi-final
when she ripped a 26th winner, this time off her backhand, after
73 minutes.
The 22-year-old emitted a huge shriek of delight and danced
around the court in triumph before blowing a kiss to the skies
and beaming at her coach and boyfriend Robbe Ceyssens in the
stands.
"I'm without words, I don't know what to say. I have mixed
emotions, all good emotions," Mertens said on court, the smile
still fixed on her face.
"I gave it all today, it was a little stressy at the end. I
played my game and it went well."
The first Belgian woman to make the semi-finals in Melbourne
since her mentor Kim Clijsters in 2012, Mertens will next meet
Caroline Wozniacki or Carla Suarez Navarro.
For Svitolina, who said she had been struggling with the hip
injury since winning the Brisbane International warm-up, it was
a third grand slam quarter-final defeat in three attempts after
her two previous disappointments at the French Open.
Given the Ukrainian's renowned mobility, Mertens was well aware
that she would have to go for her shots if she was to win and
she did just that to break for 2-1 at the start of the opening
set with a thumping backhand return.
A second break for 5-2 put Svitolina firmly on the back foot but
the world number four finally exerted some pressure and got one
of the breaks back when Mertens double faulted while serving for
the set.
That could have been a turning point but Mertens regathered
herself and served out at the second attempt when Svitolina
miscued a forehand after 41 minutes.
"I knew it was going to be tough, I tried to be aggressive, make
her move, come to the net a bit more, just try to play
aggressive in the court," Mertens added.
Mertens was now oozing with confidence and an overhead volley at
the net saw her break in the first game of the second set before
she romped away for a handsome victory.
"She's a great player (and) I couldn't match it, because
physically it was very tough for me," Svitolina said.
"Going into the tournament, I had a few issues with my health.
She didn't give me opportunities. All the credit to her, because
she played really good tennis and was only today, so I couldn't
really match it."
(This version of the story has been corrected to clearly state
that Clijsters did not win the title in 2012)
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney, editing by Peter
Rutherford)
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