00:00Welcome to Grandstand with the evening session ahead of us. Two matches to come
00:04and they are both blockbusters. First of all Elisa Mertens already on court
00:09here. Pretty in pink again for her. The number 11 seed, world number 13 and the
00:16player has done it all in her career.
00:20WK, this one. Power. Serve. Okay, have a good match ladies.
00:44Mertens. Needs a lift.
01:09Just leaving it a little too short.
01:28Oh, that's a tremendous rally. And Eve Winosaka second-guessed her and thought that she's
01:33going to go behind here.
01:44Oh, caught the line. A little bit more spin, a little bit more control, a little bit less speed.
02:03So disappointed with that, she almost...
02:25Oh, it just delayed the almost inevitable in the end. She takes the gain to 30. She takes the set.
02:326-1. Just under half an hour. Mertens a little bit more.
02:36A little bit lower at best.
02:38Naomi is flying and flew through that first set.
02:56Beautiful shot from Elisa Mertens and she has break points here. Set over.
03:14Yeah, had time to pick her off. The net cord did Mertens no favour.
03:182017 in Wuhan.
03:292017 in Wuhan.
03:33This is their first meeting on hard courts.
03:42Timely intervention.
03:56Again, Elisa almost didn't even bother watching that.
04:11Oh, it's just so good.
04:14Easier than the top half of the draw where all the top 16 seeds remain.
04:28Gave it away too easily then. Which way to go?
04:41Justice. Ridiculously good.
04:45Phones at the ready.
04:50Done and dusted.
04:52Elisa Mertens didn't play well by any means, but she wasn't terrible. You'd think so if you looked at the
04:58scoreline.
05:01Well, Naomi, many congratulations. That was a magnificent performance. Dropping just three games an hour and 11 minutes. I mean,
05:08listen, that felt wonderful. Summarize how it was from your point of view.
05:12Yeah, I mean, it was definitely really fun. I was able to play my last match here. So I feel
05:17like I kind of got familiar with the court and I really like it out here. And yeah, thank you
05:22guys for staying and cheering us on.
05:28Yeah, I have to say this is a truly remarkable atmosphere for the second time you're now playing on Grandstand.
05:33And for the second time is absolutely buzzing on here. No coincidence. The crowd absolutely love you. And I think
05:37you love them back, don't you?
05:38Yeah, definitely. Thank you guys. And I know that Alex is playing soon. So yeah, I hope she wins too.
05:48I think there's a real conflict with the crowd tonight as to who they want to watch. Just a word
05:54finally on your rivalry with Elisa Mertens. It's a very respectful one. You guys have played each other nine times
05:59before you've won six of them. But listen, you guys look like your friends on the court. You're clapping her
06:04aces. You're complimentary to her shots. And it's just a really nice tennis rivalry, that one.
06:08Yeah, definitely. I mean, I respect her a lot as a player. She's someone that I see that works really
06:14hard. And, you know, we've both been on the tour for a little minute. So it's cool that we're out
06:20here. And, you know, she's an awesome player. So I have to clap when she hits a great shot.
06:25You're both awesome players. Listen, we'll see you in the next round. Well played again tonight.
