(Reuters) – McCartney Kessler will head into the Australian Open with a second WTA title under her belt after scoring a 6-4 3-6 6-0 victory over Elise Mertens in the Hobart International final on Saturday.
The American, who will face China’s Zhang Shuai in the first round at Melbourne Park, racked up 44 winners against Mertens, who was chasing a third title in Hobart after triumphs in 2017 and 2018, as well as a runners-up finish last year.
Ranked 67th in the world, 25-year-old Kessler wrapped up the win in just over two hours after a dominant deciding set, as she aims to improve on last year’s second-round Australian Open exit.
Mertens, 29, faces Swiss Viktorija Golubic in her opening round at the Australian Open. The Belgian reached the semi-finals of the year’s opening Grand Slam in 2018.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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