Elise Mertens

We can't complain about finding tennis talent in Belgium. There was a gap between the time of Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, but right now we have a couple of good tennis players that could do well in the tournaments.

First there was David Goffin, a young guy from Wallony, who's ready to win his first Grand Slam. And lately, in the women's listings, there is Elise Mertens. Last year she was only number 100 or so, and now she's shooting to become number 24. Tonight she'll be playing the quarter finals at the Australian Open - and for being the outsider, she has a chance of winning this match.

Elise is 22 years old and comes from a village not far away from where Kim Clijsters was born. Kim is her big example, and she trains at her academy. The strenght of Elise is that she is a fighter. She can keep calm under all circumstances and that's a plus as well. She doesn't make a lot of mistakes. All of this explains why she is doing so well Down Under. She won in Hobart and also did well in the Hopman Cup.

I suppose we'll see more of this player!