Sabalenka looked bemused when an out call went against her to give Belgian Mertens the first service break and a 4-3 lead in the opening set of their quarter-final, and a check by umpire Miriam Bley confirmed the call.
Iga Swiatek continued her bid for a fifth French Open title when the Polish fifth seed overcame Romania's Jaqueline Cristian to reach the Roland Garros fourth round.
Poland's Swiatek, who has dropped to fifth in the world rankings, has so far failed to win a title this year despite a few deep runs in tournaments, including the Australian Open semi-finals.
Versatility is essential and it has come to the fore for Sabalenka in recent tournaments, where she has used not just her brutal strength to put opponents on the back foot but also applied a touch of finesse to leave them wrong-footed.
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka overwhelmed American Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 to win the Miami Open on Saturday, relying on her usual play-book and powerful forehand to win an eighth WTA 1000 title.
IMAGES from the French Open played at Roland Garros, in Paris, France, on Sunday.
IMAGES from Day 1 of 2025 Wimbledon Championships played at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, on Monday.
Images from Day 1 of the 2025 French Open in Paris on Sunday.
Four-times Grand Slam champion Alcaraz, who is gearing up to defend the French Open title later this month, fired off 24 winners in a strong performance to seal victory.
It was the Latvian's first title on clay since her 2017 French Open Grand Slam victory.
Zverev cruised past home favorite Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 6-2, while Sabalenka triumphed over qualifier Anna Blinkova 6-3, 6-4.
Coco Gauff dismantled defending champion Iga Swiatek 6-1, 6-1 on Thursday with a ruthless display to storm into her first Madrid Open final, where she will face world number one Aryna Sabalenka for the WTA 1000 title.
French Open champion Coco Gauff defeated Italy's Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday to reach the Wuhan Open final, her third WTA 1000 final of the year.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka reached the last 16 at the Miami Open when Elena-Gabriela Ruse retired injured on Saturday, while men's top seed Alexander Zverev beat Jacob Fearnley 6-2, 6-4 to reach the third round.
Defending champion Coco Gauff put on a clinical performance to beat Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 and eliminate the Italian as she registered her first win at the WTA Finals on Tuesday.
The loss ends five-time major champion Swiatek's bid to become the first woman to win the tournament in the Southern California desert three times.
Aryna Sabalenka will battle American 19th seed Madison Keys in the final on Saturday looking to become the first woman since Martina Hingis from 1997-99 to win the Australian Open title three times in a row.
Aryna Sabalenka is the red-hot favourite at Melbourne Park, where another victory would give her a fourth major title and widen the gap in the rankings to Poland's Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff of the United States.
Aryna Sabalenka will bid for a third Australian Open title in succession as if she was going for her first
Aryna Sabalenka took a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.
Top seed Sabalenka proved to be at another level, though, racking up 32 winners for the match to leave Badosa chasing shadows under the lights at Rod Laver Arena.
Madison Keys, 29, is the fourth-oldest first-time Grand Slam champion in the professional era.
Aryna Sabalenka overwhelmed Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 with a impressive display of raw power to reach her third successive Australian Open final on Thursday.
Elena Rybakina qualified for the WTA Finals' last four, beating an error-prone Iga Swiatek 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 on Monday, while Amanda Anisimova beat fellow American Madison Keys 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in Riyadh.
Elena Rybakina rallied from a set down to beat Russian fourth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 and win the Ningbo Open title on Sunday, as her late surge to reach next month's WTA Finals gained momentum.
Images from Day 8 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and Madison Keys made rocky starts on Thursday but eventually secured contrasting victories to set up a heavy metal Australian Open final showdown
Sabalenka spent eight weeks at the summit last year before Swiatek overtook her with a victory at the season-ending WTA Finals and the Belarusian hopes for a longer stay as 'N1'.
French Open champion Coco Gauff captured her third WTA 1000 title and first in Wuhan after rallying from two breaks down in the second set to defeat fellow American Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 in Sunday's final.
She beat Jasmine Paolini in the quarter-finals and then made it back-to-back wins over top 10 players as she also defeated compatriot Coco Gauff by 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals.
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka shook off a second-set blip to win three back-to-back Wuhan Open titles after beating Chinese fifth seed and home favourite Zheng Qinwen
Djokovic tamed local favourite Rinky Hijikata 6-3, 6-3 in what was the top seeded Serbian's first tour-level singles match since October.
Aryna Sabalenka opened her bid for a third straight Australian Open title with an easy victory over Sloane Stephens on Sunday.
No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus had little trouble getting past China's Qinwen Zheng in a group-stage match at the WTA Finals on Saturday, prevailing 6-3, 6-4 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Born in the year of the tiger according to the Chinese zodiac, Sabalenka's affinity for the animal transcends mere birth year.
Defending champion Jannik Sinner, who has been recovering from illness, received a more favourable route to the US Open final than Carlos Alcaraz while Aryna Sabalenka will be tested in her bid to retain her title after the draw was made on Thursday.
It was an emotional win for Aryna Sabalenka, who missed Wimbledon last month due to a shoulder injury.
Djokovic saved three breakpoints in stifling conditions to go 5-4 up but lost the opening set in a tough tiebreak as Opelka cranked up his serve
After successfully defending her Australian Open trophy in January, Aryna Sabalenka won the US Open crown in September for her third Grand Slam title.
Aryna Sabalenka claimed her third Grand Slam title after winning the Australian Open twice.
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