Simona Halep secured her spot in the final at the Melbourne Summer Set 1 with a 6-3 6-2 win over Chinese teenager Zheng Qinwen. The Romanian player has reached a WTA Tour final for her 13th consecutive season.
Halep is currently world number 20 after a difficult 2021 season plagued by an injury. It’s her lowest ranking at the start of a season since 2013, when she was ranked world number 47.
Halep never dropped her serve during the match. She earned an early break and saved the two break points she faced in the opening set. The two-time Grand Slam champion hit her forehand to force an error long from Zheng on her first set point in the ninth game of the first set.
Zheng earned three break points in the first game of the second set, but Halep saved them to hold her serve. Halep earned a break in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead after Zheng made a double fault on break point. Halep sealed the second set with her fourth break in the eighth game.
“I am really happy that I can play the final for the first tournament of the year. I am feeling good, and I am happy with the way I played. I am really happy with the way I bounced back. It’s always tough to play the first tournament of the year. Yesterday was really tough, and today I felt like I played much better, and that means physically I am in a good spot”, said Halep.
Halep set up a final against Veronika Kudemertova, who received a walkover after Naomi Osaka withdrew from the match due to an abdominal injury. Kudemertova has reached her third career WTA final after finishing runner-up in Abu Dhabi and winning her first title in Charleston.
