TOP SEED HALEP USES SMARTS TO REACH FINAL
MONTREAL — Simona Halep wasn’t happy with having to play the afternoon semifinal at the Rogers Cup Canadian Open women’s tennis championships, but she didn’t allow her frustration to affect her play.
The top-seeded Halep started the match by breaking Ashleigh Barty’s serve and needed only 70 minutes to beat the 15thseeded Australian 6-4, 6-1.
The win moved Halep into Sunday’s final
against third-seeded Sloane Stephens of the United States and defending champion Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
Halep, who is No. 1 in the WTA rankings, hammered away at Barty’s two-handed backhand and took advantage of 30 unforced errors by the 22-year-old Aussie.
“I think I played smart tennis today,” said Halep, who’s looking to repeat her 2016 win here. “I pushed her very back on her backhand, then I could just receive a shorter ball, an easier ball for me to open the court. Then I just went all the way, also on her forehand, short, cross, long, everything. I played some slices. I think the match was a very good level of tennis even if the rhythm was a little bit mixed.”
There was one hiccup from Halep when she lost her serve in the sixth game and Barty held to pull to within 4-3. Halep appeared flustered but summoned coach
Darren Cahill who urged her to stay calm.
The advice paid off as Halep served out the set and then broke Barty three times in the second set which was closer than the score indicated. After taking a 3-0 lead, Halep fell behind 0-40 on her serve but
Barty was unable to convert on one of her four break point chances in the game.
Halep faced two more break points at 4-1 but managed to survive
In the final game of the set, Barty started with a double fault and went down 0-40. She battled back to deuce but an unforced error and a double fault sealed the win for Halep.
“I feel like my return is growing up, I have more confidence,” said Halep. “Actually when I started the tournament, I was really down with my return because I couldn’t feel it. But now I’m at a good level, so I’m happy about my game.”