By the numbers: Mertens upsets 2022 champ Rybakina, into Wimbledon last 16

Belgium's Elise Mertens pulled off another big upset of this year's Wimbledon Championships, defeating second-seeded former champion Elena Rybakina 7-6 (4), 6-1 in the third round on Saturday.

Mertens took control early, breaking serve twice in the opening set, but Rybakina responded with a break each time to force a tiebreak. The Belgian edged the tiebreak before taking complete command in the second set, winning the final five games to seal victory in 1 hour, 36 minutes.

"I'm very pleased about the performance," she said after the win. "Very happy that I could eventually win that first set. It was a little bit up and down at the end. Close it out with a good serve. I think I had the momentum there. I know I had to keep my focus, especially at the beginning of the second set. But really wanted to win. Really had the fire in me today. I'm happy that I could close it out eventually on that 5-1 with another good serve."

Mertens will next face Czech Marie Bouzkova, who rallied from a set down to defeat Liudmila Samsonova 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 in 3 hours, 25 minutes in the longest women's match of this year's tournament.

Here are some key stats coming out of the third-round matches:

2: This was only Mertens' second win over Rybakina in nine career meetings on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. Her only previous victory over the Kazakh came in 2021 on clay in Madrid, where she won in the round of 32. Two of Rybakina's seven victories had come at Grand Slams, but this was their first meeting on grass.

"Definitely one of my most memorable wins, especially against her here at Wimbledon," Mertens said. "But also, I never had the fourth round to defend. Looking back on my previous results on grass this year, it was a little bit of a mixed feelings. But I really grew into the match. Also especially my last match, also grew into that match. That gave me a little bit of confidence. I soaked it all in today on Court 1. It's a beautiful court to play at."

3: Rybakina, the 2022 winner here, ends the grass-court season with three wins, her fewest on the surface in a single season since 2019 (also three wins).

4: This is the fourth time Mertens has reached the fourth round at Wimbledon after doing so in 2019, 2022 and 2025. She has never advanced to the quarterfinals at the All England Club so far.

10: That's the number of break points both Rybakina and Mertens earned during the match. Mertens converted four of them, while Rybakina capitalized on just two.

17: This is the 17th time Mertens has reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam singles event. Her best major result came with a semifinal run at the Australian Open in 2018, while she also reached back-to-back quarterfinals at the US Open in 2019 and 2020.

Over on Court 12, Bouzkova and Samsonova contested the longest women's match of this year's Wimbledon. After Samsonova won the opening set 6-4, neither player dropped serve in the second set, forcing a tiebreak. Bouzkova prevailed on her third set point to force a decider.

Samsonova fell behind an early break as Bouzkova took a 2-0 lead before rallying to level the deciding set at 4-4. Bouzkova earned the decisive break in the ninth game and then saved three break points while serving for the match to complete the 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4 victory. The win levels their head-to-head record at 3-3.

3: This is the third time Bouzkova has reached the fourth round at Wimbledon. She advanced to the quarterfinals in 2022 and the fourth round in 2023. She has yet to reach the second week at any of the other three Grand Slams.

8: Bouzkova has now won eight consecutive matches after capturing the Nottingham title last week. Five of those eight wins have come in straight sets.

33: That's the total number of break points in the match. Samsonova earned 20 break points but converted only three, while Bouzkova also converted three breaks from her nine opportunities.

Mertens and Bouzkova have split their two career meetings on the Tour, with the Belgian winning their most recent encounter in the round of 64 in Dubai earlier this season. This will be their first meeting on grass.