Mertens, Bergs power Belgium into first United Cup semifinal

Belgium advanced to the United Cup semifinals for the first time after Elise Mertens and Zizou Bergs recorded singles victories over their Czechia's Barbora Krejcikova and Jakub Mensik, respectively. 

Mertens and Krejcikova, both former world No. 1 doubles players on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, played a tight opening set in which the Czech broke serve for the first time in the 11th game before serving out the set 7-5.

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Mertens, ranked No. 19 in the PIF WTA Rankings, responded strongly in the second set, breaking twice to claim it 6-1 and force a deciding set.

"She's a very experienced player, especially on big stages," Mertens said to reporters on Krejcikova. "In that first set, I held my serve till the end when she broke me 7-5. I felt like I needed to push a little bit more, I needed to play a
little bit more aggressive, which I did."

After exchanging early breaks in the third, both players held serve until Mertens struck in the 11th game and then held to close out a 5-7, 6-1, 7-5 victory in 2 hours and 33 minutes.

"Started well in the third, too," Mertens added. "I broke her. She broke me. Wasn't really happy about that, but it was actually back and forth. I was really happy with the 4-All. I pushed a little bit more, little bit more aggressive. I knew I had to take risks."

Mertens’ serve proved decisive as she fired 12 aces and committed just three double faults, while Krejcikova finished with six aces and 10 double faults. The Belgian converted 80% of her break-point opportunities compared to Krejcikova's 20%.

In the first match of the tie, Bergs defeated Jakub Mensik 6-2, 7-6( 4) in 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Bergs entered the event with a 2-16 mark against top 20 opponents, but with wins over Felix Auger-Aliassime and now Mensik, he's won two in a row. The 26-year-old was unable to serve out the match with two opportunities to do so, but ultimately crossed the finish line.

Near the end of the match, Bergs played more conservatively as the pressure win mounted. Mensik benefitted from a ball that hit the net and barely bounced over to earn his first service break of the match. He then captured another break at 5-6 with a big backhand up the line before Bergs managed to win the second set in a tiebreak.

"First of all, I didn’t even know I was 5-4 up and then I got broken and I was 5-5," Bergs said on court. "And then I break back and you just want to finish, you’re so close, you’re playing big points. I got tight, I go backwards, I play defensive. It was a very big struggle in the end. I’m so happy for myself and the team."

In the semifinals on Jan. 10, Belgium will face Switzerland, and the United States will face the winner of the Australia-Poland quarterfinal.