It was a far from simple day at the office for Simona Halep at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Playing in the quarter-finals of the tournament for the fourth time in her career, the world No.1 struggled past Petra Martic 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3. After a perfect start saw Halep break straight away, she encountered numerous difficulties as the match progressed. Converting just four out of 14 break point opportunities and producing a winner-error ratio of 37-37.
“It was really difficult to play today because of the wind. Also, she (Martic) has a tough game because she is mixing her slice, her topspin, the serve is bouncing really high and it was really tough to return.” Halep said during her on-court interview. “I fought until the end and, maybe, that’s how I won – Actually, I don’t know how I won!”
At first her undoing was herself. As Halep masterfully guided her way to a 6-4 lead with the help of a winning 81% first service rate, the start of the second set saw her get unravelled. Taking less time and rushing between points, it enabled 27-year-old Martic to take full advantage. The Croat has already scored wins over Jelena Ostapenko and Barbora Strycova earlier in the tournament. A cat and mouse chase soon developed with Halep battling from behind before crumbling in the tiebreaker.
It wasn’t just Martic proving problematic, it was also the weather. Gusts of wind moved the ball awkwardly around during rallies throughout the entire encounter. Resulting in both players capitalising and suffering setbacks. It was visible that the conditions bemused an at times animated Halep as she let out occasional outbursts of frustration. Hitting the side of her legs.
“I was a little bit frustrated about the wind today because it didn’t give me rhythm and it was really tough to stay focused for every ball.” She admits.
“I just fought and that’s why I won. This is maybe why I am here (in Indian Wells) because I refuse to lose.”
Despite the anger, it was the fighting spirit of the Romanian that helped her over the finish line. Trailing 1-3 in the decider, the top seed responded emphatically with a five-game winning streak. Drawing level at 3-3 thanks to a Martic backhand error before moving ahead 5-3 after a lengthy exchange between the two saw Halep come out on top. Ironically she sealed the win with the shot that troubled her the most – the backhand. A shot coach Darren Cahill urged her ‘to trust’ during one of their on-court coaching stints earlier in the match.
Halep, who won the Indian Wells title in 2015, will next take on either Naomi Osaka or Karolina Pliskova. She has a winning head-to-head record of 3-0 against Osaka and 6-2 against Pliskova.
