Belgium advanced to the United Cup semi-finals for the first time, beating Czechia, 2-1, on Thursday in Sydney, after Zizou Bergs and Elise Mertens clinched the tie by recording singles wins over Jakub Mensik and Barbora Krejcikova, respectively.
First of all, I didn’t even know I was 5-4 up, and then I got broken, and I was 5-5. 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. Zizou Bergs
Bergs defeated Mensik, 6-2 7-6(4), in an hour and 40 minutes, followed by Mertens, who faced a tough test against 2-time major singles champion Krejcikova, but, edged the win, 5-7 6-1 7-5, win in 2 hours, 33 minutes.
Entering the event with a 2-16 mark against Top 20 opponents, but with wins over Felix Auger-Aliassime and now Mensik under his belt, Berg has won 2 in a row.
The 26-year-old was unable to serve out the match, despite 2 opportunities to do so, but ultimately got himself across the finish line.
Near the end of the match, Bergs played more conservatively as the pressure mounted, with Mensik benefitting 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 afterwards. “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.”
Elise Mertens clinched the tie for Belgium with a 3-set win against Czechia’s Barbora Krejcikova
© Izhar Khan/AFP via Getty Images
With Belgium 1-0 up in the tie, Mertens followed against Krejcikova, both former WTA World No 1 doubles players.
A tight opening set saw the Czech break serve for the first time in the 11th game, before serving out the opener, 7-5.
“She’s a very experienced player, especially on big stages,” Mertens told reporters later. “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.”
The 30-year-old Belgian, ranked 19 in the world, responded strongly in the second, breaking twice to claim it, 6-1, and force a deciding set.
“I had to adjust my game in the second set,” Mertens said. “I needed to play a little more aggressively, and I’m happy I was able to do that. Being up 1-0, I could play freely because of Zizou, and we’re so happy to be in the semi-finals.”
After exchanging early breaks in the third, both held serve until Mertens struck in the 11th game and then held to close it out, clinching the tie for Belgium, 2-0, and a place in Saturday’s semi-finals.
“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 3 double-faults, while Krejcikova finished with 6 aces and 10 double-faults.
The Belgian also converted 80% of her break-point opportunities, compared with just 20% for the Czech.
Linda Fruhvirtova & Dalibor Svrcina of Czechia exacted a degree of revenge by edging the mixed doubles match against Belgium’s Greet Minnen & Sander Gille on Thursday in Sydney
© Brett Hemmings/Getty Images
In the mixed doubles, Czechia exacted a degree revenge when Linda Fruhvirtova & Dalibor Svrcina defeated Belgium’s Greet Minnen & Sander Gille, 6-7(13) 6-3 [10-3], in a tight contest that took the tie score to 2-1 in Belgium’s favour.
Belgium will face Switzerland in the semi-finals on Saturday, while the United States will meet the winner of the Friday quarter-final between hosts Australia and Poland.