Top seed Aryna Sabalenka defeated second seed Elise Mertens in the Upper Austria Ladies Linz final 7-5 6-2 to clinch her eight career title and third this season.
The 22-year-old Sabalenka opened the match with a 2-0 lead. Mertens quickly leveled back to 2-2. A break in the ninth game gave Mertens the opportunity to serve for the set at 5-4, but Sabalenka won three games in a row and the set was hers.
Sabalenka’s momentum continued in the second set. She went 3-0 up and was never really endangered by her Belgian opponent until the end of the match that lasted one hour and 42 minutes.