Mertens saves three match points to end Paolini’s title defense in Rome
ROME — Having come by way of 2 hours and 55 minutes’ value of ups and downs in her Internazionali BNL d’Italia opener towards Leolia Jeanjean on Thursday, Jasmine Paolini could not survive a second curler coaster. Despite holding three match points at 6-5 in the second set, the No. 9 seed’s title defense ended 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 by the hands of No. 21 seed Elise Mertens in 2 hours and 41 minutes.
Rome: Scores | Draws | Order of play
Mertens has lengthy been a difficult opponent for Paolini. They have been going through one another since their junior days, and the Belgian now leads their professional head-to-head 5-2 (with one in all Paolini’s wins coming through retirement). She additionally has historical past in Rome — this was Mertens’ first Top 10 win in precisely 12 months, since knocking Jessica Pegula out of the identical stage of the event final 12 months, and he or she was additionally a quarterfinalist in 2020.
The consequence continues the 2026 clay-court swing’s theme of escapes from match level down. It’s the eleventh tour-level win from match level down because the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz moved to the terre battue at first of April. Four of these occurred in Madrid — however Rome has already matched that complete with the third spherical solely just below approach. Previously, Anastasia Zakharova saved quintuple match level to defeat Dayana Yastremska in the primary spherical, Anna Kalinskaya fended off a exceptional 9 towards Katerina Siniakova in the second spherical and Karolina Pliskova escaped three to beat Jaqueline Cristian in the second spherical.
Mertens isn’t any stranger to such victories. The final time she gained from match level down prior to Saturday was in final 12 months’s ‘s-Hertogenbosch semi-finals towards Ekaterina Alexandrova, the place she set a record for this decade by saving 11. She’s now posted seven wins from match level down in the 2020s.
“They keep adding up!” Mertens exclaimed when advised concerning the stat. “YOn the second you are making an attempt to not make a mistake, striveing to push a bit bit extra. Yo I feel my serve was working effectively on these points, and he or she framed one. I used to be like, OK, she’s getting a bit bit nervous, so perhaps I obtained one other probability. but I feel it is simply taking part in extra in the now. TO little bit extra like, OK, what do I’ve to do? TOnd do not actually take a look at the rating, as a result of then you definitely’ll get tight.”
Mertens will subsequent face both No. 8 seed Mirra Andreeva or Viktorija Golubic.
Paolini staying constructive regardless of 2026 outcomes
A crestfallen Paolini mentioned afterwards that the loss was significantly laborious to take on condition that it was on dwelling soil.
“Today wasn’t enough from my side for the people,” she mentioned. “[Mertens] It is very solid. You have to play always one more ball. She has very good hand when she defends. Her serve, also it’s very good. You have to play well to beat her from the start until the end of the match. I’m sad because I was playing well. But in that moment of the match, in the important points, I wasn’t that solid, that brave as well. At the end of the day, at this level you pay it.”
Paolini’s document in 2026 is simply 11-10, and he or she has but to defeat a Top 40 opponent this season. But she does not contemplate it a disaster, nor does she really feel the shape that took her to two main finals and two WTA 1000 titles in 2024-25 has abandoned her.
“I’m not really happy about my results, of course.” she mentioned. “I feel I’ve to strive to be extra constructive and to look ahead to the subsequent tournaments. I feel it is getting higher and feeling higher, feeling extra constructive on court docket. That’s essential. Today, with a troublesome opponent I used to be aggressive. I stayed there. I managed to play my recreation. That’s essential to me. We have to regulate few issues — I do know that — to win these sort of matches.
“Two years in the past I [lost] right here first spherical, then I did closing in Roland Garros. So tennis is like that. It is the constructive and the damaging issues typically. I do know that I’ve to keep there each event. I do know that I’ve to put high quality on the court docket, off the court docket, training, in the gymnasium, then to be extra lucid on essential points. I feel additionally placing extra matches, the high-quality matches, provide help to in these sort of moments.
“But I think we are going in the right direction. As I said, I’m feeling better. That’s important. Tennis is like that: sometimes it goes well, sometimes not. The important thing to me, it’s stay there, believe it, take the chance. To take the chance, you have to stay there and believe.”