WIMBLEDON: Simona Halep has become the first Romanian woman in history to reach the final of the Wimbledon Championships after defeating Elina Svitolina in straight sets.
Halep, who won the French Open title last year, dismantled Svitolina’s tentative serve during the 6-1, 6-3, encounter. Svitolina won less than 50% of her service points and leaked a costly 16 unforced errors. Many were from the forehand side. In contrast, Halep proved to be more consistent with the help of 26 winners to 16 unforced errors. Overall, she won 22 more points (68-46) then her rival.
“It’s an amazing feeling and I’m really excited and also nervous,” Halep told BBC TV about her win.
“It’s one of the best moments of my life so I’m just trying to enjoy it as much as possible and to be happy that I am in the final.”
The clash on Center Court was by far Halep’s biggest test yet on paper. So far in the tournament, the former world No.1 hasn’t played anybody ranked higher than 36th in the world, which was Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round. It initially looked as if the clash would be heading into a marathon with the first two games lasting 20 minutes alone. Halep was forced to save a trio of break point in her first service game before going on to eventually break for 2-0. Doing so with the help of a Svitolina backhand going long.
Despite going on to lose her break advantage, Halep rapidly began to gain her momentum on the court. As the decibels of her grunting increased, so did the power of her shot-making during a clash where the majority of the rallies took place from the baseline. A four-game streak saw the seventh seed clinched the opener in what was a clash closer than the scoreline suggested. The Romanian prevailed on her fifth set point opportunity by firing a serve out wide followed by a forehand winner down the line.
Six games away from her first Wimbledon final, Halep continued to overpower and outmaneuver her rival. Who was also making history by being the first Ukranian woman to contest a Wimbledon semi-final. The next breakthrough occurred at 3-3 in the second frame. Another clean winner down the line rewarded Halep the chance to break. Something she did with the help of another mistake from across the court.
“On the grass you have to open the court quite early if you can. For me was disappointing little bit.” Svitolina reflected during her press conference.“Few decisions that I made on the important points which I think gave her the confidence to go for more and, yeah, just to play better.”
Continuing to race towards the finish line, Halep sealed victory after just 74 minutes of play. Prompting her to lift her hands into the air out of delight. Besides a place in another grand slam final, she will also rise to at least fourth in the world rankings. Her highest position since the end of May.
“It was not as easy as the score shows. There were very long and deep games.” She evaluated.
“I fought very hard to win this match and she’s an amazing player.’
“I think I played the right tactics and I was strong both physically and mentally.”
Halep will play either Serena Williams or Barbora Strycova in the final. She trails Williams 1-9 in their head-to-head but leads Strycova 5-1.
“It doesn’t matter (who I play) because it is the last match of the tournament. I will on be center Court at Wimbledon, so I can not ask for more.” Said Halep.
The latest win is Halep’s 35th on the WTA Tour this season.
