Bertens stuns world No 1 Halep in thrilling final

World No 1 Simona Halep crashed to a shock defeat by Kiki Bertens in a dramatic final of the Western & Southern Open.

Bertens prevailed 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 in a real test of nerve as she was forced to save championship point in a roller-coaster second set.

It was the biggest win of the world No 17’s career, the first time a Dutch player had won in Cincinnati and her maiden win against a world No 1, taking two hours and five minutes to do it.

Halep was playing close to her best in a one-sided opening set that she claimed 6-2 in 30 minutes, her clinical tennis overwhelming the underdog.

The early stages of the second set produced an unexpected swing as Bertens exploded into life to establish a 4-1 lead, only to then crumble once more. She won just two points en route to seeing the score tied at 4-4 and, as her lead ebbed away, so too did her stamina. But the ninth game witnessed a stirring revival as

0 Kiki Bertens: Test of nerve.

she survived break point that arrived at the end of a monster rally before upping the power to take the game.

Set point came cloaked in luck as a return struck the net and slipped over, but Halep rallied to take the tenth as her opponent hurled her racket into the air in frustration.

Another swing came early in the tie-break as Bertens reeled off four points in a row to establish a 4-2 lead and, having later saved Championship point, she took the set.

And the decider was proving equally hard work for a visibly frustrated Halep, who lost ten points in a row as she conceded a 4-1 lead.

Bertens took advantage of the Romanian’s loss of composure to close out the set. Dunblane’s Jamie Murray and Brazilian Bruno Soares warmed up for the US Open later this month by winning last night’s Western and Southern Open final in Cincinnati.

The No 4 seeds also won the Citi Open in Washington a fortnight ago and claimed their ninth title together after beating old rivals Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 4-6, 6-3, 10-6. The Colombian duo, seeded seven, had triumphed when they last met in the Rome semi-finals in May, but Murray, pictured, and Soares avenged that defeat as they came from a set down to win in just over 85 minutes. It was the perfect tuneup for the US Open, which begins in New York next Monday and victory gave Murray the 22nd ATP title of his illustrious career.