Fifth meeting between the Belgian and Russian stars.
The second and third seeds will lock horns in the top half of the 2025 Libema Open, as Elise Mertens and Ekaterina Alexandrova clash for a spot in the coveted final. It will all depend on the execution of groundstrokes in this hard-hitting semifinal encounter at ‘s-Hertogenbosch on Saturday. The winner of this match-up will face an unseeded star – Elena Ruse or Elisabetta Cocciaretto – in the final.
World No. 25 Elise Mertens has entered her ruthless aggression era in Dutch territory this week. The 29-year-old has reduced every single opponent of hers to a bagel, dismissing them to reach the final four without dropping a set. With comfortably over 70% first serve win rate and impeccable break point conversion, it is going to be hard to stop Mertens on this surface.
On the other hand, Ekaterina Alexandrova had to come through a nail-biting quarterfinal against No. 8 seed Veronika Kudermetova. A two-time champion at this event, Alexandrova pulled back from a set down to reach her fourth consecutive Libema Open semifinals. At the recently concluded Roland Garros Championships, the Russian powerhouse reached the Round of 16 – losing to eventual champion Coco Gauff.
Ekaterina Alexandrova leads the head to head against Elise Mertens by 3-1. Their last meeting was at Doha in 2025.
Considering Mertens and Alexandrova are both attacking baseliners, this rivalry was always going to be an intense one. The duo split their opening two encounters. In fact, the first ever Elise-Ekaterina tussle took place at this very event – six years ago. While two matches have been decided in straight sets, the other two have been three set thrillers thus far.
| Event | Round | Winner | Score |
| 2025 Doha | Round of 16 | Ekaterina Alexandrova | 6-4 6-2 |
| 2021 Tokyo Olympics | Round of 64 | Ekaterina Alexandrova | 4-6 6-4 6-4 |
| 2020 Linz | Semifinal | Elise Mertens | 2-6 6-1 7-5 |
| 2019 ‘s-Hertogenbosch | Round of 32 | Ekaterina Alexandrova | 6-4 6-2 |
| Elise Mertens | Category | Ekaterina Alexandrova |
| 0 | Grand Slams | 0 |
| 9 | WTA Singles Titles | 5 |
| 21 | WTA Doubles Titles | 1 |
| 0 | WTA-1000 Titles | 0 |
| R1 (Tokyo 2020) | Olympics Best Performance | R2 (Tokyo 2020) |
| No. 25 | Current World Ranking | No. 19 |
This girl is on FIRE 🔥
— wta (@WTA) February 12, 2025
Alexandrova continues to shine in Doha after defeating Mertens 6-4, 6-2. She will face Jessica Pegula next in the quarterfinals!#QatarTotalEnergiesOpen pic.twitter.com/hH936kyOKy
Alexandrova emerged triumphant in the only other grass court battle against her former Top-15 opponent. However, Saturday will be very different. Mertens is looking in ominous form, and has the momentum in her favour. Moreover, fatigue could play a part in Alexandrova’s outing – she had to endure a tough three set match on Friday. Regardless of the outcome, it is going to be an encounter with terrific stroke-making.
Prediction: Elise Mertens in three sets.
READ MORE: ‘I Want To Be Remembered’ – Coco Gauff Declares Intentions for Future Greatness
According to the pre-match analysis on the money line, Mertens has a 60% chance of winning. However, the odds are fluctuating and currently in favour of the Russian. Here are the betting odds:
Elise Mertens Win: +120
Ekaterina Alexandrova Win: -160
(According to BetMGM)
A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.
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