Halep sets up Dubai final clash with Rybakina
>> DUBAI: Simona Halep pounded out a 6-2, 6-0 defeat of US qualifier Jennifer Brady on Friday to move into a second career final at the Dubai Championships tennis tournament.
The top seed and world No.2 was to meet Elena Rybakina in last night’s final after the Kazakh defeated Petra Martic 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/2) in their earlier semi-final.
“It felt much better than previous matches, I played really well,” said Halep after a 62-minute win which followed having to come back from a set down in both of her previous matches.
“Everything went in, I felt the ball great. I feel like I played the best match since I came here.”
Rybakina is the form player of 2020, now into her fourth final from five tournaments.
The Kazakh, who has now won a WTA-leading 19 matches in 2020, took two and a quarter hours to outlast her more experienced Croatian opponent Martic who led 3-0 in the second set.
Rybakina won the Hobart title last month and finished runnerup in Shenzhen and St Petersburg.
Halep retired in her only previous match with Rybakina in the Wuhan third round last September.
Halep, the 2015 Dubai champion, went into the Brady match with a fitness advantage, having spent just three and a half hours on court while her opponent had more than nine hours of tennis in her legs.
Brady had upset double Grand Slam winner Garbine Muguruza in the quarter-finals on Thursday.
“A final is a final,” said Halep, who was bidding for a 20th career title yesterday.
“It’s always a nice opportunity and privilege to play the last match of the tournament.”
After a modest 2019 season, the 20-year-old has Rybakina has improved 150 places to 19th in the rankings. “It’s amazing,” she said. “Hopefully, I can continue to play like this and next year also.”