Battling Mertens saves 11 match points to reach Den Bosch final
Mertens, having lost the opening set, found herself 5-3 down in the second but battled back to force a tiebreak before seeing off the Russian second seed, with Alexandrova aiming to win her third title having triumphed in 2022 and 2023.
"I didn't even know it was 11, after one or two I lost count," Mertens said.
"I was very focused on the game, which, of course, I like that about me, that I just keep going.
"It was a difficult match, I think she started really well, and it was 6-2, 5-3 for her. I just stayed with my head in the game and gave everything I had."
Alexandrova won their only previous meeting in Den Bosch, back in 2019, and has reached at least the quarter-finals of the last five editions, but Mertens now has the chance to win a second title this year, after her Singapore triumph in February.
Standing in Mertens' way will be Romanian qualifier Ruse who recovered from losing the first set to defeat Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto 2-6 6-4 6-3. Mertens has won all three previous meetings with Ruse.
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