What a way to claim the first #BNPParibasOpen win of your career. 16th seed ##EliseMertens put in a matured performance and displayed signs of her vintage form to put a halt to teenage sensation #AmandaAnisimova’s run here in Indian Wells, going against the odds and avoiding the huge upset alert in the second round.
Many pundits gave Anisimova a decent chance of triumphing in this encounter and the upset looked highly-likely when Mertens quickly found herself down 0-3 with a break point for a double-break deficit. However, it was a terrific comeback from the Doha champion who earned her first-ever win in Indian Wells to book a spot in the third round where she will face Wang Qiang.
Mertens produces the huge comeback
It was a very strong start from Anisimova, who earned the confident service hold in the opening game. The confidence that she exhibits is highly-admirable for a player in her generation, especially with her ability to be aggressive and overpower those higher-ranked players. The slow start from Mertens saw her gifting free unforced errors and Anisimova fired a big return winner to grab the first breakthrough — opening up an early 2-0 lead within a blink of an eye.
Anisimova simply seemed unstoppable. She consolidated the break to love and was easily outhitting the 16th seed as she steered towards a three-game advantage. It was rather expected that Mertens would meet with this kind of trouble — a powerful youngster who is capable of overpowering anyone else.
An overcooked backhand was all but enough to start Anisimova’s unfortunate downfall in the match. She went too much on a backhand, which ultimately landed in the net, on break point in the fourth game and Mertens had no rights to win that point as she was on the defence throughout the entire point. However, that error paved the way for the Belgian to fight her way back and eventually get onto the scoreboard as Anisimova sent another forehand into the net.
This could be one of the rare occasions whereby Mertens is consistently on the defence, and she can rest assured that her defensive skills are relatively decent too. Anisimova was broken in the following game despite being 30-0 up and her lack of experience immediately showed as she completely lost the plot with her game going haywire. The fact that she could have easily led 4-0 but the scores were in fact 3-3 was disastrous to her mental strength.
A flawless service hold soon boosted Anisimova’s spirits but that proved to be the last game she would win in the opening set. Mertens raised her level and broke through in the pivotal ninth game; the depth of her groundstrokes were causing some trouble for her opponent and she finally managed to seal the deal and assert her authority across the court as she took the first set 6-4.
Mertens takes all her chances
The story of the second set could be summed up with one word: pity. Mertens went 2/4 on break points in this set, while Anisimova put up a staggering 0/5 conversion rate in the second set. It was a huge pity for the American home favourite as she earned chances in three different games, but solid play from the experienced Belgian quickly shut down those doors and Anisimova just could not perform on the important points.
A stunning defensive forehand from Mertens saved her from the brink early on — preventing her from suffering an early deficit and instead pushed her to claim the nervy service hold while maintaining the same level of intensity previously. When you do not take your chances, your opponents will. And that was the case for today as Anisimova was immediately broken next; being broken off a wild backhand.
Two marathon Mertens service games followed but on both occasions, it was the 16th seed who prevailed in the battles. Anisimova’s forehands were failing her during the important points as Mertens survived some tricky resistance, zooming out to a 5-1 lead, albeit not easy, and edged closer to the impressive win.
Although Anisimova managed to claim a straightforward hold, it proved to be just a consolation game as Mertens eventually sealed the excellent 6-4, 6-2 win despite having to roar back from a humongous deficit early on.
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