Simona Halep endured a roller coaster meeting with compatriot Irina-Camelia Begu as she battled to a 6-3, 0-6, 6-1, victory in the Madrid Open.
In the all-Romanian match, Halep stated her dominance from the onset after breaking Begu in the first game of the match. The seventh seed was by far the more fresh player on the court given the amount of time that players have spent on the court this week. In the three previous rounds, Halep has spent 192 minutes on the court compared to Begu’s 470. After fending off a trio of break points in the seventh game, Halep clinched the first set after 39 minutes of play is what was a highly competitive set of tennis.
RT WTA “First set Simona_Halep
Grabs the opening set vs Begu 6-3! #MMOPEN https://t.co/SzJeduQ44r”
— racket swing (@racket_swing) 5 May 2016
Begu has been in spectacular form throughout the Madrid tournament with wins over Eugenie Bouchard and Garbine Muguruza. She swiftly reminded Halep of how much of a threat she poses after grabbing two consecutive breaks to move 3-0 up against the former French open finalist. The inspired performance from the underdog continued after she hit a world-class forehand cross-court winner to break once again and extend her lead to 5-0. The one way set was concluded another backhand cross court winner from Begu that wrong footed Halep. During the second set Begu was almost faultless as she produced only one unforced error compared to Halep’s nine.
The second set hammering finally came to the end in the deciding set as Halep capitalized on a duo of costly errors from her rival. A double fault combined with a backhand into the net gift the seventh seed the vital break for 2-0. This time there was no looking back for the match favorite as she edged herself closer to the win. A deep forehand shot forced Begu to return the ball into the net, rewarding Halep with the chance to serve for the match. The 96-minuite win was finally claimed by a forehand winner from Halep, prompting her to produce a massive fist pump.
“It wasn’t my best day,” the 2014 French Open finalist admitted.
“I won, which means that I played good tennis. I’m confident that it was a good match for me.”
During the match Halep was vocal in pointing out that she could her Begu getting coached. The annoyance of the issue affected her during the second set, however, reflecting on the incident she now sees the positive side of it.
“Yeah, it did affected me a little bit, but I was stronger in the third set and I didn’t care anymore,” she said about Begu’s loud coaching.
“I was there just to do my job. I had a little blip in the second set, but now i take it as if it was nothing. I take it like a positive thing. It was good that I played one more set.”
The win takes Halep to a semifinal encounter against either Samantha Stosur or qualifier Patricia Maria Tig.
Louisa Chirico continues her dream run
Elsewhere at the Caja Magica, Louisa Chirico has become the first qualifier to reach the semifinals at the tournament since Lucie Hradecka back in 2012. The American, who progressed to the last eight after Victoria Azarenka withdrew, eased her way past Australia’s Daria Gavrilova 7-6, 6-2, in her maiden appearance in Madrid.
“I can’t really describe how I feel. Definitely excited,” the 19-year-old said after her win.
“ I think my adrenaline is still going a little bit. I’m very happy to get the win today. It was a tough match.”
The win has secured the teenagers place in the top-100 for the first time in her career. The latest achievement comes to what has been a fairy tale week for Chirico, who almost missed the registration deadline for the qualifying tournament.
