Nikola Bartůňková was aiming for her first participation in the final on the WTA circuit. Her semi-final opponent in Monterrey, Mexico was Belgian Elise Mertens, and the Czech tennis player was close to triumph. She won the first set in less than half an hour and in the second she was five balls away from advancing, but then she allowed her opponent to completely turn the score around. In the end, twenty-year-old Bartůňková fell 6:1, 4:6, 2:6 after more than two hours on the court. You could watch a detailed online report on Sport.cz.
Bartůňková started great, right in the opening game she took fourteen places from the higher-ranked opponent's serve. She won four balls in a row, Mertens helped her take advantage of the break point with a double fault. On the contrary, the Czech player could rely on her striking confidence, she correctly changed the rhythm of the game and forced her opponent to make mistakes. The Belgian, whose advancement to the finals moves her into the world's elite twenty, lost her serve three times in the first set, played only two winning balls and Bartůňková, who dominated the court, converted a set point after 29 minutes.
The second set started in a similar vein. Bartůňková often did not let her opponent exchange her serve at all and gained a promising 3:0 lead. But then she did not hold her serve for the first time in the match, but she was excellent on the return. Although she used only the fifth break point, she again had the upper hand in the score. The 30-year-old Mertens was already losing 2:4 and 15:40 in the second set when the Czech served, but she managed to recover from the critical situation and played four games in a row. Bartůňková could no longer rely on her serve so much, lost her composure and patience, and tears appeared on her face during the break.
The Belgian completed the turnaround with an ace on the set ball, and the decisive third set was in progress. Bartůňková faced a significantly improved tennis performance from her opponent, who also got a break in the third game. Mertens then held her serve safely, applied her experience, and the Czech could forget about advancing to the final of her life. Nevertheless, Bartůňková does not have to be disappointed with the overall performance at the US Open. Thanks to her semifinal participation in Monterrey, she moves up to 34th place ahead of the Grand Slam in New York, which represents a career high for her in the rankings.