Tennis-Parry defeats Mertens in Monterrey to claim maiden WTA singles title

Aug 29 (Reuters) – France’s Diane Parry stayed resilient to defeat Belgian second seed Elise Mertens 6-4 0-6 6-3 in the Monterrey Open final on Saturday, securing her maiden WTA singles title in her final tune-up ahead of the U.S. Open. 

Parry, 23, took control of the match early at the WTA 500 event, racing to a 4-1 lead in the opening set before 30-year-old Mertens stormed back to level. Parry won the next game and then broke Mertens to take the first set 6-4. 

But a dominant Mertens emerged for the second set as the Belgian won six straight games, breaking her opponent three times. Parry took a medical timeout while down 5-0 in the second set but returned to the match.

The Frenchwoman found her momentum again in the deciding set, taking a commanding 5-1 lead before the Belgian started inching her way back, winning back-to-back games. But a resilient Parry served out the set 6-3 to win her first Tour-level singles title in just over two and half hours. 

Parry will face Swiss Viktorija Golubic at the U.S. Open on Monday.

(Reporting by Nicole Fernandes in Toronto; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

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