Halep fights her way back from the brink
PARIS — Trailing by a set and two breaks in the French Open quarterfinals, just one game from elimination, Simona Halep was not exactly full of positive thoughts during a changeover before her opponent tried to serve out the victory.
“I thought the match was lost. That’s it. It’s over,” the Romanian said.
“And then I started to feel more relaxed, maybe because I thought it was finished.” It worked. The third-seeded Halep came all the way back to beat No 5 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-0 on Wednesday, saving a match point en route to reaching the semifinals at Roland Garros for the second time.
Halep, the 2014 runner-up, was down 5-1 in the second set, then was a point from losing while down 6-5 in the tiebreaker but came up with a backhand winner down the line to extend the match.
She didn’t even know how dire things were at that moment. Only later, while checking Twitter, did Halep find out what the score was.
“I was like, ‘It was match point for her?’” Halep said. “I didn’t realize during the match.”
On Thursday, she will face No 2 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, a 7-6 (3), 6-4 winner over No 28 Carolina Garcia of France.
The world No 1 hang in the balance.
If Pliskova reaches the final, she will replace Angelique Kerber, a first-round loser in Paris, atop the WTA rankings. If Halep can get past Pliskova and then go on to win the title, she’ll be the new No 1. spot will
Asked whether she felt any additional pressure because of that possibility, Pliskova answered with a smile.
“No, not really, because coming into this tournament, there were a few people who told me, ‘You have to be in the final to be No. 1.’
“I was like, ‘There is no chance I make the final here,’” she said.
“Now it’s close ... but it’s far as well, because I’m playing against somebody who I would call one of the best girls on clay. It’s not like I’m going to get it for free, you know.”
Pliskova’s self-effacing comment about making it to the final weekend at Roland Garros makes sense.
While she was the runnerup to Kerber at the US Open after beating Serena Williams in the semifinals, Pliskova has never had any success to speak of on clay. In five previous French Open appearances, she won a total of two matches.
“It’s probably tough to play my best tennis on this surface,” she said, noting her trouble with the footwork that can be tricky and the way clay dulls her dangerous serve.
All of her big hitting — with a racket that has a white ribbon attached to the frame for good luck — gave Garcia fits, as the last French player in the tournament made an eye-popping 31 unforced errors to Pliskova’s 13.
“Still, I think I’m able to play better tennis, which, probably, I’m going to need against Simona,” said Pliskova.
Just last month, Halep lost to Svitolina — who leads the tour in titles and match wins in 2017 — in the final of the Italian Open.
Worse for Halep, she tore a ligament in her right ankle, leaving her French Open status up in the air.
She sure didn’t shown signs of any fitness issues on Wednesday, scrambling all over the court to retrieve shots that seemed destined to be winners.
After digging her big hole, Halep climbed out by making an effort to drive balls deeper in the court and trying to increase Svitolina‘s lateral movement.
Svitolina, who had come back from trailing 5-2 in the third set of her fourth-round match, acknowledged that “a little bit of nerves” didn’t help her cause against Halep.
“Insuchabigevent,thatcan happen,” she said of her jitters. “But there is not much room for making mistakes.”