Hard work for Halep in Toronto win over Gauff
TORONTO, Canada: Simona Halep served twice for her match against Coco Gauff without success on Friday before finally securing a 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) quarter-final victory at the WTA Toronto Masters.
The former number one, a two-time winner in Canada, made hard work of her triumph over the rising American teenager who just missed a chance at cracking the world ranking top-10 for the first time.
Halep needed a second-set tiebreaker to advance into the semi-finals in just under two hours, lining up a meeting with seventh-seeded American Jessica Pegula.
Double Grand Slam champion Halep earned her 183rd match win at the Masters 1000 level.
In other quarter-final action, Brazil’s giant-killer Beatriz Haddad Maia claimed another victim as she upset Olympic champion Belinda Bencic with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 comeback win.
The South American, who stunned world number one Iga Swiatek in the third round, won her 16th match since June, the month in which she claimed back-to-back grass titles in Nottingham and Birmingham.
Bencic, the 2015 Toronto champion who beat soon-toretire Serena Williams in an emotional second-round clash, was broken four times and coughed up five double-faults.
“I’m feeling happy, for sure, it’s a special moment,” Haddad Maia said. “I’ve worked a lot every day for a few years to live this moment.
“I didn’t start the match playing as I wanted. I was missing more than normal in the first set. But I pushed myself to stay positive, to stay in the game - a tennis match can change very fast.”