Elise Mertens came back from one set down to beat Daria Kasatkina 4-6 6-2 6-2 in the second round of the Miami Open at the Hard Rock Stadium.
Kasatkina had led 4-1 in their previous five head-to-head matches against Martens, who scored her only win over Russian opponent in the second round in New Haven in 2017.
Mertens went up a double break to race out to a 3-0 lead. Kasatkina came back by winning six of the next seven games with three breaks to clinch the first set 6-4.
Mertens dropped just four points on serve and broke serve in the first and seventh games to win the second set 6-2. The Belgian player earned the first break in the opening game of the third set. She broke for the second time in the seventh game to open up a 5-2 lead after a double fault from Kasatkina and sealed the win with her third ace of the match.
Mertens scored the 10th win of her career against a top 10 player and her first since she beat Simona Halep in the third round in Madrid in 2021. Mertens will take on either Petra Martic or Wang Xiyu in her bid to reach the Round of 16 in Miami for the second time.
