World No.2 Simona Halep struggled with both the heat and her opponent during her roller coaster 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, win over Colombia’s Mariana Duque-Marino.
Playing in the hot and humid conditions, the Romanian endured problems of trying to find the right rhythm in her game. Illustrated best by her winner-error count of 16-37.
“It was a tough one because of the heat. It was not easy to stay there and to play. I knew that it was the same thing for her.” Halep told Scott Abraham from ABC7. “I just kept fighting. I wanted to stop missing because in the first set I missed a lot.”
Closing in on the elusive world No.1 position, Halep struggled against her Colombian rival from the onset. A tentative service game enabled Duque-Marino to break for a 3-0 lead immediately. The sluggish start proved too costly for Halep’s first set chances as the underdog sealed the lead in a fraction under half an hour.
Fearing a shock loss, the top seed managed to generate a resurgence in the second set to sail to a 5-1 lead against her opponent, who started to fall victim to the hot conditions. Still inconsistency continued to hamper Halep. Shortly after Duque-Marino took an injury timeout due to feeling unwell in the heat, a disastrous service game from Halep brought the Colombian back into the match. She narrowly managed to maintain the lead and snatched the second set with the help of a forehand shank from her opponent.
Continuing to struggle in the humid conditions, Halep battled towards the finish line by producing a far from perfect performance. After trading breaks of serve at the start of the decider, the French Open finalist proved to be the stronger player of the two on the court. The roller coaster encounter between the two concluded with a lacklustre ending. A Duque-Marino double fault moved Halep to match point before another error sealed the victory for her.
Awaiting Halep in the quarter-finals will be Ekaterina Makarova. She currently leads their head-to-head 3-1 and won their last encounter in straight sets at the 2016 BNP Paribas Open.
“It is always tough when I play her. The ball is coming the other way because she if a lefty, but I know what I have to play. So hopefully I will feel great and I can play my best.” She said about the upcoming match.
WATCH – Moving on at the @CitiOpen
I go one on one with @Simona_Halep!@ABC7News pic.twitter.com/JiJPdY8XbU
— Scott Abraham (@ScottABC7) 3 August 2017
Petkovic tames Bouchard
Germany’s Andrea Petkovic has reached her first WTA quarter-final of the season by outlasting Eugenie Bouchard 6-2, 4-6, 6-0. She clinched the match with the help of four aces and a winning 64% service rate.
“The first two games were not as straight forward as they looked. They were a battle that went to deuce a few times. With the heat the first two games were really important and then I was on top of her and playing more aggressively.” Petkovic told The Tennis Channel about the final set.
Petkovic will play Bianca Andreescu in the next round. The Canadian stunned second seed Kristina Mladenovic 6-2, 6-3.
Also progressing to the last eight is Monica Nicelescu. In just under two hours, she defeated compatriot Patricia Maria Tig 6-4, 7-6(2).
