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US OPEN

September 4, 2019

Elise Mertens

New York, NY, USA

B. ANDREESCU/E. Mertens

3-6, 6-2, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You had such a strong start to the match. Wondering what you felt made the difference in the end?
ELISE MERTENS: I think it was a good match, very competitive match. You know, she stepped up her game a little bit. But overall, I think, yeah, it was a good one.

Q. She hasn't lost a match in quite a few months. What is it in your opinion that makes her so tough to beat?
ELISE MERTENS: Well, she never gives up. Her serve was coming more in the second and the third set. She's a good runner, gets the ball back, not a lot of mistakes. Yeah, I think that's it.

Q. What were you doing well in the early part of the match that was helping you beat her?
ELISE MERTENS: I was trying to play aggressive, tried to move her. Yeah, I think that's the main thing, because, you know, you can't play behind the line against her. Just try to play aggressive.

Q. You also seemed to serve much better in the first set than the rest of the match. What turned that around?
ELISE MERTENS: I think she was just returning better at the end. She was coming really into the match in the second and the third sets.

Yeah, I was serving quite okay today. I'm happy about my performance. Of course I wanted to win, but, you know, that's tennis sometimes. I'm just going to learn from this match and keep moving forward.

Q. Most of the players are getting their first look or playing her for the first time now. From your assessment, what makes her so hard to beat, I guess? Because she's getting these wins, and I think that's surprising everyone, probably herself included.
ELISE MERTENS: Well, she's still young, no pressure. I think if you can serve well at the big moments, she can do well at the big moments. That's maybe something she does very well.

Also get that one more strike. She's a very powerful hitter but also a good mover.

Q. Your tournament is not over yet, but what positives do you take out of the singles?
ELISE MERTENS: I think overall it was a great tournament for me. First time quarterfinals. Maybe better than I expected a little bit, because I didn't have those matches in on the hard court before. But overall I'm pleased about my performance. Of course I wanted to do better, but I'm still in doubles so I want to go for that too.

Q. It seems when you go into a tournament and have minimal or lowered expectations, these results seem to come. In instances when you go into clay or whatever, maybe you want better results and things. How do you think you're learning to kind of manage that so that it becomes a more consistent thing?
ELISE MERTENS: Well, I think with tennis you never know, because you're playing against yourself but also your opponent.

I think the most important tournaments are the Grand Slams, of course. Everyone wants to do well. So trying to focus on those four.

Yeah, I mean, it's been quite an inconsistent year, also, but I'm taking the positives out of it, and I hope I can move forward from this match on.

Q. When you look back at this US Open, what are you going to see that you did really well, and what do you think you want to improve on?
ELISE MERTENS: Well, I have to look at my matches to see that. I will definitely do that to learn from myself, even though I don't want to watch the match I lost, but, you know, that's the one you learn the most of.

Q. What did you think of the noise level in the arena tonight?
ELISE MERTENS: Well, it didn't really bother me. Actually didn't lose my focus because of that. It was packed, and the atmosphere is great here. I'm just going to take the positives out of this. It's a night match so it's prime time. I really enjoyed the moment.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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