Simona Halep and Samantha Stosur made the finals of the Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions by winning rollercoaster three-setters, against Ana Ivanovic and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova respectively.
After decisively splitting the first two sets, the top-seeded Halep neutralized Ivanovic’s strong initial lead in the third set, coming back from a double break down by winning six straight games and 25 of the last 32 points. Final score: 2-6 6-1 6-3. Romania’s Halep is now projected to rise from No.14 to No.11 in the WTA rankings.
In the second semifinal, Stosur looked to be on a good way to victory with a set and a break up, when Pavlyuchenkova ran away with six straight games to force the third set in which Stosur managed to make the only break of the set and hence win the entire match 6-1 1-6 6-3.
Halep and Stosur have faced each other five times so far and both Halep’s wins over Stosur came this year. (photos: © Neal Trousdale)
