For Elise Mertens (WTA 17) the Olympic Games in Tokyo were quickly forgotten. After she immediately fell to the Spanish tandem Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro as the number 1 in women’s doubles alongside Alison Van Uytvanck on Saturday, she also had to acknowledge her superiority in the singles on Sunday in the Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova (WTA 34): 4 -6, 6-4 and 6-4.
“I try to stay positive. It’s my first Games and I was very happy to be selected and to represent my country,” Mertens said after her new defeat. “Obviously I’m disappointed, which is normal as an athlete. It was certainly not an easy draw. Alexandrova is a player who takes big risks, even at the end of the third set. The dime fell on her side today.”
Mertens hopes to achieve a better result at the Games in Paris within three years. “Although it has not delivered what I hoped for, I am happy with the experience I have gained here,” the Limburger continued. “The conditions were tough and my legs felt heavy towards the end. I hope to qualify for Paris and do better there. Within 48 hours I will leave the Olympic Village and leave for the United States for my next tournament in San Jose. The season is far from over. I hope that Alison (Van Uytvanck, ed.) can now uphold the Belgian honor.”
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