Sunday Times

Halep breaks grand slam duck in fine style in Paris

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● Simona Halep fought back from a set and a break down to finally claim her first grand slam tennis title, beating Sloane Stephens 3-6 6-4 6-1 in a gruelling French Open final yesterday.

The world No 1 had lost all three of her previous grand slam finals, including two at Roland Garros, but staged a thrilling comeback to win in two hours and three minutes.

“In the last game I felt like I could not breathe anymore,” said Halep.

It was the perfect way for the Romanian to banish the demons of her painful final defeat by Jelena Ostapenko 12 months ago, when she blew a lead of a set and a 3-0 lead in the second set.

US Open champion Stephens had looked set to lift a second grand slam when leading 6-3 20, but the American 10th seed wilted.

The 26-year-old Halep played a scintillat­ing deciding set in which she made only five unforced errors.

Halep celebrated her victory in a way usually seen at Wimbledon, climbing into the stands to greet friends and family.

“When I was down a break in the second set I just tried to relax and enjoy the match.”

Halep had vocal support from the start, but Stephens was the better player in the baseline rallies and made an early breakthrou­gh.

The early exchanges were brutal in the Paris heat, but Halep was forced onto the defensive as Stephens moved 4-1 ahead. Stephens used her bigger forehand to good effect as Halep struggled to make any inroads into her opponent’s serve.

She did manage to make Stephens serve for the set, though, and was stepped into the court with more authority, bringing up her first break point.

But Halep wasted the chance with her 10th unforced error and Stephens made her pay, drilling a backhand into the corner to wrap up the set after just 41 minutes.

Defeat in straight sets for Halep looked likely when Stephens claimed the first game of the second set on her fourth break point.

The Romanian knows better than anyone how grand slam finals can turn, though, after her 2017 heartbreak against Jelena Ostapenko, and she broke back to love.

Stephens briefly looked out on her feet, but raised her game by shortening the points to break straight back before levelling the set at 4-4, helped by the first ace of the match.

But Halep dug deep, squaring the final by winning the next two games, as Stephens fired a backhand wide on the first set point.

The American had tired irreparabl­y, and it was her turn to fall 2-0 down at the start of the deciding set.

The match was all but ended as Halep clinched the double break in game four after some magnificen­t defending in one of the points of the match.

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