Hobart International 2025: McCartney Kessler downs Elise Mertens for second career title

McCartney Kessler has sealed her second WTA Tour title on Saturday seeing off the queen of the Hobart International in Elise Mertens who has won the tournament twice and reached multiple finals.

It was a 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 win for Kessler on her tournament debut. It was a first meeting and the World No.67 needed two hours and three minutes to defeat the former top 15 player who won the title in 2017 and 2018. She also lost to Emma Navarro last year in the final.

Kessler has gone from being ranked in the 200's to making her Grand Slam debut last year and Melbourne and now she has continued to go up. She made her top 100 debut and won her first tour level title at Tennis in the Land Cleveland.

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Now the week before the Australian Open, Kessler has doubled her title haul with another WTA 250. Now she finds herself on the brink of the top 50.

She hit 15 winners in the first set in a masterclass, Mertens could only respond with two of her own. Mertens started the set with an 11-minute deuce game and turned the momentum levelling up the tie.

But Kessler got out of the blocks again and surged to victory. She eased past Mertens in a bagel set to claim the title. She cruised through with 44 winners in total.

Kessler now aims to make her best run at the Australian Open. She faces Zhang Shuai. While Viktorija Golubic awaits for Mertens who is unseeded and the highest ranked player to be so in this year's draw.

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