Doha: Top seed Simona Halep came back from 1-4 down in the deciding set to beat Elina Svitolina 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the semifinal of the Qatar Open tennis tournament here Friday evening. It was her first victory over the Ukrainian in approximately two years.
Halep made an aggressive start and claimed an early break with a scorching backhand winner to set the tone for the evening. The Romanian clinched the opening set before WTA Finals champion Svitolina upped her aggression from the baseline to snatch a break for 2-1 lead in the second set.
After bagging the second set, Svitolina claimed an early break again in the final set, while also frustrating her opponent with her relentless court coverage.
Seeking another break of serve to close out the match, Svitolina came out on top in several high-octane rallies during an eight-minute sixth game and held three breakpoints for a 5-1.
But Halep summoned her powers of recovery to fend off all three points and went on to clinch five straight games en route a remarkable victory.
“I’m happy because I didn’t give up… The two finals that I played against her (Svitolina) in Rome, I gave up and I was not ready to fight,” said Halep, who will now face unseeded Belgian Elise Mertens in Saturday’s final.
“The mental part is really important… but definitely today I was stronger physically as well, because against Svitolina (it) is never easy to win a match. She’s very strong on the legs,” added the Romanian.
Mertens scored her second top 10 victory of the week as she battled past three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber 6-4, 2-6, 6-1.
Mertens incidentally has failed to win a set against Halep in her previous two meetings — both on clay last year.
Agencies
