Mertens races past Burel to make Jasmin Open final

Belgian Elise Mertens, the second seed, reached the final of the Jasmin Open by defeating Frenchwoman Clara Burel, the No 8 seed, 6-2, 6-1 at the Skanes Family Hotel Monastir on Saturday evening.

With the one hour, 23 minute win, Mertens is now into the final without dropping a set so far in Tunisia. She’ll face a tougher challenge tomorrow most likely, with top seed Jasmine Paolini in the championship match.

The Belgian won against Filipino qualifier Alexandra Eala (7-5, 6-0), Belarusian Iryna Shymanovich (6-3, 6-2) and Japanese Mai Hontama (6-3, 6-2) in the previous rounds of the Monastir tournament.

Earlier in the tournament, Burel, ranked No 74, beat Spaniard Cristina Bucsa (6-2, 6-2), Russian wildcard Erika Andreeva (6-0, 5-7, 7-6 (2)) and Italian Lucrezia Stefanini (6-3, 6-1).

Monastir WTA 250, other semi-final result (Skanes Family Hotel Monastir, USD 259.303):

• Jasmine Paolini beat Lesia Tsurenko (4): 6-2, 4-6, 6-2