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

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.