Belgian Elise Mertens shocked Poland’s Iga Swiatek 7-6 (0), 6-3 within the China Open 2026 quarterfinal on Friday.
The 30-year-old, ranked nineteenth on the earth, took one hour and 50 minutes to beat the six-time Grand Slam winner and attain her third WTA 1000 semifinal of her profession and her first since 2021.
Swiatek is the third Grand Slam winner Mertens has defeated on this match, earlier seeing off Jelena Ostapenko and Coco Gauff.
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“Generally you simply develop right into a match,” stated Mertens after the match.
Mertens will now tackle house favorite Zheng Qinwen for a spot within the last after she beat Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6 (6) earlier within the day.
Revealed on Oct 09, 2026