Kessler overtakes Mertens in Hobart to win second career title

McCartney Kessler of the United States captured her second career Hologic WTA Tour title on Saturday, defeating No. 2 seed Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 in her tournament debut Hobart International won.

Hobart: Scores | Draws | Order of play

In their first meeting, world number 67 Kessler needed 2 hours and 3 minutes to defeat former top 15 player Mertens, who won her first two career titles here in Hobart in 2017 and 2018 and was runner-up to Emma Navarro last year became.

Aspiring American: Over the last 12 months, Kessler’s professional career has blossomed. Just a year ago, Kessler was ranked 207th and made her Grand Slam main draw debut in Melbourne as the winner of the USTA wildcard for the Australian Open.

Since then, it’s been all about the 25-year-old American, who played college tennis at the University of Florida. A week straight before the 2024 US Open, Kessler made her top-100 debut and won her first tour title at the WTA 250 event in Cleveland.

Now, in the week leading up to this year’s Australian Open, Kessler has doubled her overall title with another WTA 250 trophy. This time she’s about to make her Top 50 debut.

History of the game: It was a masterclass in aggressive tennis from Kessler to start the game. She scored 15 winners in the first set, including an ace on set point. Mertens was only able to record two wins in the opening game.

However, Mertens managed to survive an 11-minute game of eight deuces at the start of the second set and she used this to turn the momentum back in her favor. Mertens tied the game at one set apiece, bringing her excellent career win-loss record in Hobart closer to 20-3.

But just as quickly, Kessler regained control in the final set with another dazzling array of groundstroke wonders. Kessler made it through the decider, defeating the runner-up, and the American finished with a total of 44 winners.

On to the major in Melbourne: Both Kessler and Mertens are now traveling to Melbourne for the first round of the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open. In her opening match in Melbourne, Kessler will face China’s Zhang Shuai, a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open in 2016.

Mertens’ best career Grand Slam performance was a semifinal run at the 2018 Australian Open, right after she won her second straight Hobart title. The Belgian, who is the best-placed unseeded player in this year’s main round, will face Swiss qualifier Viktorija Golubic in the first round.

Jiang and Wu win doubles titles: Later on Saturday, No. 4 seeds Jiang Xinyu of China and Wu Fang-hsien of Chinese Taipei claimed the Hobart International doubles title. In the final they defeated the unseeded Monica Niculescu from Romania and the Hungarian Fanny Stollar 6:1, 7:6(6).

After hanging on in the first set, Jiang and Wu needed three championship points in a tight tiebreak before securing victory in an hour and a half.

Overall, this is Jiang’s fifth career WTA doubles title and the third for Wu. This is their second title as a couple; They previously teamed up to win the ASB Classic in Week 1.