Mertens thanks Clijsters for her win

– Elise Mertens (right) said she has been getting advice from her idol and Belgian great Kim Clijsters as her incredible winning run Down Under continued in the Australian Open quarterfinals yesterday.

The unseeded Melbourne Park debutant blew away world No 4 Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-0 to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal.

Mertens, 22, trains at the Clijsters Academy back home and revealed she had been receiving messages of advice from the fourtime Grand Slam winner.

“Yeah, of course, a lot of time. She has been here before. She has the experience, so it’s always nice to talk to her,” she said of Clijsters who lifted the Australian Open crown in 2011 as well as three US Open titles.

“And also, for the emotions, to see what she has to tell me or can, yeah, communicate.”

World No 37 Mertens, who is yet to drop a set, retained her Hobart title earlier this month and is on a 10-match unbeaten run in 2018 after becoming the first Belgian to make the last four since Clijsters in 2012.

“Her and Justine Henin ... what they achieved was amazing, and I look up to them,” Mertens said.

Mertens is coached by boyfriend Robbe Ceyssens and has seen her world ranking rise from 120 at the end of 2016. She will now leap into the top 20 for the first time. – AFP