Mertens reaches second round

Second seed Elise Mertens has not disappointed in the first round of the Libéma Open. The Belgian player, who is in good form, defeated Slovenian Polon Hercog on centre court, 6-2 6-4.

Mertens did not survive the first round in the 2017 edition. She will meet qualifier Antonia Lottner from Germany in the second round. Ottner won her match against qualifier Anna Blinkova: 6-2 3-6 6-2.

Mertens is doing well on the world rankings thanks in part to her place in the semi-finals at the Australian Open. This week the 22-year-old player moved into 15^th position.

Fifth seed Shuai Zhang did not survive her first match in Rosmalen. The 19-year-old Hungarian qualifier Fanny Stollar soundly defeated the 10 year older Chinese player: 6-3 6-3. To reach the quarter-finals she must defeat Alison Riske from the USA. The latter was too strong in the first round for Tatjana Maria: 6-4 7-6(2).