Taiwan’s Latisha Chan and Chan Hao-ching clinched the women’s doubles title at the Qatar Open in Doha on Saturday, defeating Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands 2-1.
The Chan sisters eased through the first set against their fourth-seeded rivals 6-1.
In the second set, Groenefeld and Schuurs put up more of a fight and topped the Taiwanese duo 3-6, forcing a super tie-break.
Photo: Reuters
The sisters eventually won the super tie-break 10-6 to claim the women’s doubles title.
This victory marked the Chan sisters’ second women’s doubles title of this season after they won the title at the Hobart International in Sydney, Australia, in January.
It marked the 14th women’s doubles championship of their career and their second women’s doubles title in Doha after first winning the Qatar Open in 2016.
WOMEN’S SINGLES FINAL
Reuters, DOHA
Belgium’s Elise Mertens rallied from a set down at the Qatar Open to beat top seed Simona Halep 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and clinch her first Premier-level title.
After both players dropped their opening service game, Halep took control of the encounter by winning 18 consecutive points from 3-3 to clinch the first set.
World No. 3 Halep grabbed an early break in the second set, but Mertens responded immediately to get the match back on serve.
Unseeded Mertens held her nerve to fend off two break points in the seventh game before she broke Halep’s serve to love en route to claiming her first set in six played against the Romanian.
With momentum firmly on her side, Mertens claimed a crucial early break in the deciding set and went on to hold off a late Halep surge to win her fifth WTA title.
Mertens, ranked No. 21 in the world, recorded three top-10 victories in Doha this week, also beating Kiki Bertens and Angelique Kerber in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively.
The 23-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough season last year, winning three titles, and has since maintained her steady progress on the WTA tour.
Halep, who last weekend helped Romania to their first-ever Fed Cup semi-final, struggled physically in the closing stages and needed medical assistance for her right foot.
“Honestly, I wanted to lift this beautiful trophy, but Elise deserved it very much,” said Halep, who won the Doha Open women’s single title in 2014.
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