PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI
Simona Halep meets with media in Cincinnati the day following her final in Toronto. Pete Ziebron Images
Simona Halep started 2015 on fire as she won Shenzen, appeared in the Australian Open quarterfinals, won Dubai, Indian Wells and reached the semifinals in Miami before heading to Europe for the clay court season.
It appeared that the 2014 Roland Garros finalist and 2014 Wimbledon semifinalist would continue her winning ways on the clay and grass but it was not to be in 2015. Halep only managed to compile a 5-3 record on clay before crashing out in the 2nd round of Roland Garros to Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
Certainly, Halep would correct course on the lawns of England following the French Open. However, Halep recorded a disappointing quarterfinal loss in Birmingham to Kristina Mladenovic and followed up that result with a quick 1st round exit at Wimbledon to world #106 Jana Cepelova.
Suddenly, a player that several members of the media were tabbing to win a major in the very near future recorded very poor results in a pair of majors that she challenged for the title just last year.
Yesterday, following her Cincinnati 7-6(3) 6-2 quarterfinal win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, I asked Halep about the break she took from tennis after Wimbledon:
"No tennis. I did not play tennis. No tennis, no matches. So I did relax myself with other things."
The time that Halep spent away from the game paid huge dividends as she returned to action in Toronto after nearly one and a half months away from the tour. Halep recorded wins over Jelena Jankovic, Angelique Kerber, Aga Radwanska and Sara Errani before having to retire in the 3rd set of the final to Belinda Bencic. The extremely hot and humid conditions in Toronto wreaked havoc on Halep and she was not able to continue the match at 6-7(5) 7-6(4) 0-3 in the final.
Thus, it was a surprise that Halep appeared in Cincinnati this Monday, the very next day after the Toronto final and took part in the WTA Round Table discussion with media. Halep was in relatively good spirits despite having to retire from the final less than 24 hours earlier in Toronto.
Simona Halep talks about returning home to Constanta, Romania to be with family following Wimbledon. Pete Ziebron Images
Right out of the gate in Cincinnati, Halep played Mladenovic, whom she lost to two months earlier in Birmingham. This time, Halep was the victor 7-5 5-7 6-4 on Grandstand Court. Next up was German Andrea Petkovic in a much anticipated contest. Again, Halep needed 3 sets but was able to record a 4-6 6-4 6-2 win to advance to the quarterfinals.
Following Roger Federer's match on Center Court last night, Simona Halep had an opportunity to win the opening set in the 12th game but was not able to convert her break point on Pavlyuchenkova's serve. Instead, Halep raced to a 4-0 lead and would win the last 3 points of the breaker after it reached 4-3.
Following the match I asked Halep about that particular game and tiebreaker:
"Yeah, I have got a little frustrated that I couldn't win that game. But she served well that game and she was staying here pretty well. She was very strong in the end of the first set. I think I did well, and in the tiebreaker I was stronger."
Halep broke Pavlyuchenkova all 4 times she served in the 2nd set and was broken twice herself. However Halep's 2 service holds were more than enough to win the match 7-6(3) 6-2.
With the win, Simona Halep advances to the semifinals with a 30-5 record on hard courts in 2015 and will play Jelena Jankovic yet again. The two met in the Indian Wells final as well as last week in Toronto. The winner will play eaither World #1 Serena Williams or #14 seed Elina Svitolina.
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