Elise Mertens in Berlin turned the match around against Liudmila Samsonova after a weak start and won the third set without losing a game
Elise Mertens opened her appearance at the VANDA Pharmaceuticals Berlin Tennis Open with a victory that, in terms of the score, the course of play and the manner of the comeback, was one of the more striking matches of the first round. The Belgian tennis player defeated Liudmila Samsonova 1:6, 6:3, 6:0 on June 15, 2026, at the Steffi Graf Stadium in Berlin and secured a place in the round of 16 of the WTA 500 grass-court tournament. According to the official WTA draw, after losing the first set, Mertens completely changed the balance of power on the court, while Samsonova, after a convincing start, won only three more games until the end of the match.
The match had a markedly uneven dynamic. Samsonova used a better rhythm from the baseline in the first set, entered points more quickly and punished Mertens' uncertain start, but the continuation brought a complete change of control. In the second set, Mertens stabilized her serve, began keeping the ball in rallies longer and increasingly forced her opponent to play one extra shot. She turned the third set into a one-sided finish, closing the match with a series of games that clearly showed how much the momentum had shifted to her side.
The first set belonged to Samsonova, but it did not determine the direction of the match
Samsonova opened the encounter better and won the first set 6:1. Such a result pointed to quick control of the match, especially because play on grass is often built around early pressure, the first serve and short points. Samsonova, the winner of the Berlin tournament in 2021 according to the official tournament data, looked in that section like the player who better used the speed of the surface and more easily found aggressive shots after the opening serve. During that period, Mertens did not manage often enough to take the initiative, and the early deficit further narrowed the space for a calmer entry into rallies.
But the first set did not provide the full picture of the balance of power. Mertens is known for often relying in matches on tactical adjustment, patience and a change of rhythm, and precisely those elements came to the fore after the initial deficit. Instead of trying to shorten the points at any cost, she began to distribute her shots better and use situations in which Samsonova had to play on the move. Such an approach did not immediately erase her opponent's advantage, but it gradually reduced the number of easy points that Samsonova was winning in the first set.
The second set was the turning point of the encounter. Mertens won it 6:3, thereby breaking Samsonova's dominance and bringing the match back into balance. In terms of the score, it was not a dramatic set with a large number of extended games, but it was important because it changed the tone of the duel. Mertens was increasingly able to neutralize her opponent's first shot after the serve, and her baseline game was becoming safer. Samsonova, on the other hand, was losing the continuity that had enabled her convincing advantage in the first set.
The third set as confirmation of a complete turnaround
The final set was the clearest indicator of the difference that had emerged after the change of rhythm. Mertens won it 6:0, without losing a game, which on a grass surface is a particularly strong signal of control because service games are generally harder to break than on slower surfaces. According to the official WTA draw, after 1:6 in the first set, the Belgian won the next two sets 6:3 and 6:0, and such a run gives the victory additional weight. It is not only about advancing to the second round, but about the way in which Mertens managed to erase a poor start and completely reverse the energy balance on the court.
Flashscore's statistical overview additionally explains why the comeback was sustainable, and not merely the consequence of a brief drop by one player. According to that data, Mertens won a total of 74 points, and Samsonova 63. The Belgian converted four of seven break opportunities, while Samsonova converted two of eight. That difference in using key points was important because Samsonova had chances to stay closer in the score, but did not turn them into a stable continuation of pressure. Mertens also won 78 percent of points after landing her first serve, which allowed her, after the initial crisis, to protect her own service games much more securely.
A comparison of the serving elements shows that Mertens' victory was not built only on defensive solidity. According to the same statistical source, she had six aces, compared with Samsonova's two, while both players recorded five double faults each. Mertens won 45 of 70 points on her serve, and Samsonova 38 of 67. Such numbers indicate that after the first set the Belgian managed to turn her serve into a starting point for controlling points, rather than into a segment of the game that opened space for her opponent to attack. When she added better conversion of break points to that, the third-set score became a logical consequence of the changed balance on the court.
A victory against a former Berlin champion
Additional context to the victory is provided by the fact that Samsonova had already won the title in Berlin. The official tournament website states that she was the winner of the first edition of the Berlin tournament after its return in the current grass-court format in 2021. Because of that, her first-round defeat carries additional weight, especially because the first set suggested that she might again find a game suited to the Berlin grass. In the announcement of video content after the match, the WTA described Mertens' victory as a turning of the situation against the 2021 champion, which neatly summarizes the basic narrative line of the encounter.
According to the current WTA player list, Mertens came to Berlin as the No. 24 player in the world rankings, while Samsonova was No. 37. Such a ranking relationship suggested that the Belgian had a somewhat more stable position in the season, but in no way reduced the danger that Samsonova represents on a fast surface. The difference between the two was not such that a one-sided match would be expected, and the first set confirmed that. Still, the way in which Mertens responded showed why her game often remains competitive even when the score initially goes in the wrong direction.
For Samsonova, the defeat is particularly unpleasant because after a good start she lost control of the match rhythm. In tennis on grass, such comebacks often also have a psychological dimension: a player who creates an early advantage expects to close games with the serve and an aggressive first shot, but every lost service game further increases the pressure. In the second and third sets, Samsonova was getting easy points less and less often, and when her first shot did not bring her a quick advantage, Mertens had enough time to open the court and guide the rallies toward her own rhythm. The final 6:0 was therefore not only the result of a drop in concentration, but also proof that the Belgian had found an effective pattern of play.
Berlin as an important stop of the grass-court season
The VANDA Pharmaceuticals Berlin Tennis Open is played on grass as part of the WTA 500 category and occupies an important place in the short part of the season that precedes Wimbledon. The official tournament website states that the 2026 edition is being held from June 13 to 21 at the LTTC "Rot-Weiß" Berlin location, while the WTA in its tournament overview lists the main part of the competition from June 15 to 21. The difference stems from the fact that the official tournament schedule also includes qualifying days and the programme before the main draw, while the WTA overview emphasizes the duration of the main tournament. According to official tournament information, the competition brings together 32 players in the singles draw and 16 pairs in the doubles competition.
The tournament is played at the Steffi Graf Stadium, and the WTA states that the centre court holds up to 4,500 spectators. This gives the Berlin tournament a specific character: it is a major WTA event, but in an atmosphere that maintains a relatively close connection between the court and the stands. The official tournament website also emphasizes the "Berlin meets London" concept, through which the organizers connect the Berlin sporting event with the mood of the grass-court season and preparation for Wimbledon. For the players, the tournament is important because it offers quality matches on grass, and for the public because in one week it gathers part of the strongest world tennis elite.
According to the WTA tournament overview, Berlin is a WTA 500 event on outdoor grass courts, and the total financial framework of the tournament is listed as 1,206,446 US dollars. In its basic information, the official tournament website highlights a prize fund of 1,100,000 US dollars. Such amounts confirm the tournament's status as one of the more important stops between the end of the clay-court part of the season and the beginning of Wimbledon. The WTA also states that the tournament, once known as the German Open, had from 1988 a place in the highest tier of women's professional tennis, and since 2021 it has been played as a WTA 500 grass-court event after a long history on clay.
What Mertens takes into the continuation of the tournament
For Mertens, this victory is important for several reasons. First of all, she passed the first round after a match in which she did not have an ideal start, which in a tournament context is often worth more than a routine victory. A player who survives a difficult scoring start to a match receives confirmation that she can find solutions even when the first plan is not working. On grass, where points pile up quickly and where one poor service game can decide a set, the ability to adapt has special value. Mertens showed that she can slow the game down when necessary, but also accelerate toward the finish as soon as she takes control.
According to the official WTA draw, Mertens awaits Nikola Bartunkova in the round of 16, after Bartunkova defeated ninth seed Diana Shnaider 6:2, 6:7, 6:3 in the first round. That detail additionally opens space for an interesting continuation of the tournament because Bartunkova comes into the second round after a victory over a seed, while Mertens arrives with a match in which she produced a major scoring comeback. For the Belgian, the key will be to maintain the level from the second and third sets, especially the stability of the first serve and patience in rallies. If she again allows a slow start, an opponent who has already knocked out a seed could exploit that for much longer than Samsonova managed to.
In the wider part of the draw, Berlin brings strong competition. In the tournament preview, the WTA pointed out that many players from the top of the rankings were among the entrants, and the official 2026 player overview lists Aryna Sabalenka as the top seed, Elena Rybakina as the second, Jessica Pegula as the third and Coco Gauff as the fifth seed. This means that every passage through the early rounds can very quickly open duels against players who have experience in the closing stages of the biggest tournaments. With the victory over Samsonova, Mertens therefore not only opened her Berlin campaign, but also sent a clear message that in the grass-court part of the season she can be a dangerous opponent even after a poor start.
A comeback that changes the impression of the tournament start
In sporting terms, the encounter between Mertens and Samsonova was an example of how quickly the structure of a match changes on grass. The first set of 6:1 for Samsonova could have suggested that the encounter would end without major complications, but the second set brought a change of initiative, and the third complete dominance by Mertens. Such a course is especially valuable for a player seeking confidence in the early days of the grass-court season, because the victory did not arrive only thanks to one good run, but through gradual adjustment and final pressure. Mertens ultimately had the better overall ratio of points won, better conversion of break opportunities and a more convincing finish.
For Samsonova, the fact remains that she opened the match at a high level, but did not manage to maintain the same intensity. That is particularly visible at the WTA tournament in Berlin because the competition is strong enough that a drop in the middle of a match rarely goes unpunished. Mertens used precisely that space: after surviving the pressure of the first set, she began to control the length of points, read the serve better and enter her own service games more steadily. The final 6:0 was the clearest manifestation of that change, but the foundation of the victory was laid earlier, in the second set, when the Belgian stopped the one-sided direction of the match.
Mertens' Berlin result therefore cannot be reduced only to passage into the next round. It shows how experience, tactical discipline and a calmer choice of shots can change a match even after a very poor start. In a tournament that serves as one of the key preparations for Wimbledon, such a victory also has additional value because it gives the player competitive rhythm on a surface on which there is not much time to search for form. Mertens will have to confirm the level from the finish in the continuation of the tournament, but against Samsonova she has already shown the most important thing: she can survive pressure, change the plan and finish the match as the player who completely controls the court.
Sources:
- WTA – official draw and results overview of the VANDA Pharmaceuticals Berlin Tennis Open 2026 tournament, including the result of the Mertens - Samsonova match and the next opponent (link)
- WTA – official overview of the Berlin tournament, category, surface, dates, location, financial framework and basic competition data (link)
- WTA – official player list and current positions of Elise Mertens and Liudmila Samsonova in the WTA rankings (link)
- VANDA Pharmaceuticals Berlin Tennis Open – official information about the tournament, LTTC "Rot-Weiß" Berlin location, dates, draw format and former winners (link)
- Flashscore – statistical overview of the Mertens - Samsonova match, including total points, break points and serving indicators (link)