Category: Simona Halep

Cincinnati semifinals set: Kerber vs. Halep, Pliskova vs. Muguruza

Post author By Marija
Post date August 20, 2016
1 Comment on Cincinnati semifinals set: Kerber vs. Halep, Pliskova vs. Muguruza

The Western & Southern Open quarterfinals finished on Friday and the semifinal pairings are Angelique Kerber vs. Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova vs. Garbine Muguruza.

Second seed Angelique Kerber battled back to beat ninth seed Carla Suarez Navarro and closed in on the No.1 WTA ranking, now being just two wins away from ending Serena Williams’ 183-week reign. After a sloppy one set and a half, Kerber took charge midway through the second set and lost just one game after going 4-2 up. Even in the worst moments, Kerber was confident in her ability to fight back and a 4-6 6-3 6-0 victory brought her into the big semis.

The German’s semifinal opponent will be Simona Halep, who beat fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the last quarterfinal of the day. The third-seeded Halep won five straight games from 0-4 down in the first set, but dropped serve when serving for the set. Radwanska stayed in the set by breaking back right away, but the Romanian finished the job in the twelfth game, 7-5. The opening three games of the second set were breaks and the first player to solidify the lead was Halep, who made concrete out of it, racing to 6-1.

The first player to make the final four was the 15th-seeded Pliskova, who eliminated seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3 4-6 6-2 by virtue of impressive winners taking center stage in the third set. Next up for the Czech is fourth seed Garbine Muguruza, who defeated big-serving qualifier Timea Babos 6-4 6-3.

Stay tuned, our photographer Omar Boraby will soon post his Friday’s gallery.

Angelique Kerber Simona Halep Western & Southern Open

Kerber makes Cincinnati quarterfinals

Post author By Marija
Post date August 19, 2016
1 Comment on Kerber makes Cincinnati quarterfinals

Angelique Kerber can become world No.1 if she wins the Western & Southern Open title and now she’s through to the quarterfinals, just three wins away from making the top of the rankings for the first time in her career. In Thursday’s third-round match, the German beat Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic 7-6(5) 6-4.

It was yet another tough encounter of the two, with the first seven games stretching over 40 minutes and including a number of breaks on both sides. As the set progressed, it was evident that Kerber had the edge, which materialized in the tiebreak. The second set was also a grinder, in which Strycova definitely succumbed to Kerber’s pressure at 4-all, dropping serve and giving Kerber an opportunity to serve for the match in the following game.

Kerber’s smart and consistent tennis defeated an in-form Strycova and her quarterfinal obstacle will be ninth seed Carla Suarez Navarro, who eliminated sixth seed Roberta Vinci 6-1 7-5.

Earlier in the day, third seed Simona Halep made her third straight quarterfinal in Cincinnati and recorded her 12th consecutive victory by defeating Daria Gavrilova 6-1 6-2. Halep’s winners-to-unforced-errors differential was +4, while Gavrilova’s was -12.

Simona Halep Western & Southern Open

Halep safely moves into the third round in Cincinnati

Post author By Marija
Post date August 17, 2016
No Comments on Halep safely moves into the third round in Cincinnati

Yesterday’s WTA action was heavily affected by rain, so Wednesday’s schedule is flooded with matches. The first today’s encounter at the Center Court of the Western & Southern Open saw third seed Simona Halep cruise past Annika Beck 6-3 6-1 and advance to the tournament’s third round.

Since the rain frightened today’s schedule as well and Halep’s match started with a delay, the Romanian knew she had to be quick and her intention actualizes, as she defeated the German in just 55 minutes and extended her winning streak to 11 matches.

After title runs in Bucharest and Montreal, Halep skipped the Rio Olympics, but today she showed that the break didn’t affect her momentum, as she comfortably beat the 44th-ranked Beck, who did convert the one break point she earned, but one was far from enough to beat Halep, who hit seven aces and won 77% of points on first serve, i.e. Beck won just 7 out of 31 points on Halep’s first serve.

Photographer Omar Boraby is in Cincinnati this week for Women’s Tennis Blog and later today he’ll post his photo gallery.

Belinda Bencic Dominika Cibulkova Francesca Schiavone Karolina Pliskova Maria Sharapova Olympic Games Simona Halep Victoria Azarenka

All the reasons WTA players are withdrawing from the Rio Olympics

Post author By Marija
Post date August 2, 2016
3 Comments on All the reasons WTA players are withdrawing from the Rio Olympics

While most players are now on their planes or at least stuck at airports, a number of WTA names are not going to the Rio Olympics, for a variety of reasons that our new contributor Fiona Sand will sum up in this post.

Simona Halep pulled out of the Olympics due to the her concerns about the Zika virus. The Romanian posted this statement on her Facebook account, highlighting a worry the virus could endanger her future of becoming a mother.

Karolina Pliskova pulled out due to her concerns about Zika.

Belinda Bencic stated that due to her wrist injury that has sidelined her since Wimbledon, she is behind on her training schedule.

Francesca Schiavone received a wildcard to go to Rio but refused it, saying that at this stage of her career, she need to focus on personal projects.

Victoria Azarenka is not playing either as she is pregnant.

Maria Sharapova is serving her two-year ban from the tennis circuit.

The latest withdrawal is that of Dominika Cibulkova, who will have to miss the big event due to a left leg injury she picked up at the Rogers Cup last week.

So we have a plethora of reasons: Zika virus, pregnancy, doping ban, personal issues, and injuries.

Ana Ivanovic Angelique Kerber Simona Halep US Open

New York City skyline inspires Adidas’ US Open 2016 collection

Post author By Marija
Post date August 1, 2016
9 Comments on New York City skyline inspires Adidas’ US Open 2016 collection

Adidas today officially released the collection inspired by the architecture and landscape of New York, that Angelique Kerber, Ana Ivanovic and Simona Halep will wear at the 2016 US Open.

The apparel features a colorful triangular print, reflecting the environment, energy and vibrancy of the host city. The striking design is accompanied by ClimaLite technology, which encourages quick drying of sweat, and ventilating Climacool materials, that help the body regulate its temperature in the heat.

The women’s collection includes six key pieces and colorful separates can be combined with both printed and solid items. There’s the Adidas Fall Club Racer Tank, with triangles in different shades of tech steel and flash red, and the solid option, the Adidas Fall Pro Tank.

The boldest piece in the collection are the Adidas Fall Pro Shorts, with the geometric print peeking through a woven mesh layer.

Another fashion-forward piece are the asymmetrical Adidas Fall Pro Skirt Leggings, that come with a detachable skirt.

Ana Ivanovic, who will wear the Adidas Fall Pro Dress during her 13th appearance at the US Open, has nothing but praise for her new clothes:

The US Open is an extremely special tournament to me, in one of my favourite cities, so it’s great to be able to bring a little piece of that onto the court with my Adizero outfit. New York is notoriously humid in summer, but the cooling fabrics and technologies in my Adidas dress are amazing and allow me to focus on my game.

Today Adidas also launched the Adizero Ubersonic 2 Athena women’s tennis shoes, the debut release from the FW16 Energy Pack. The limited-edition collection features four unique iterations of the Adidas Ubersonic footwear, each using inspirational stories from figures of mythology and culture. The other three additions to the FW16 Energy Pack will be revealed later this season.

What do you say about the 2016 US Open Adizero range inspired by New York City’s skyline? Which piece of clothing is your favorite? I love the eye-catching print and the reinvented shape of racerback in tanks and the dress, while my favorite items are the dress and bold shorts, especially those with white overlay.

Madison Keys National Bank Open Simona Halep

Halep beats Keys in Montreal final, wins 3rd title of 2016

Post author By Marija
Post date July 31, 2016
1 Comment on Halep beats Keys in Montreal final, wins 3rd title of 2016

Simona Halep won her third WTA title of 2016, beating Madison Keys, 7-6(2) 6-3 in Sunday’s final at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. After winning the International tournament in Bucharest two weeks ago, Halep is now on a ten match winning streak.

Both players struggled to find their A-game in a messy opening set. There were eight breaks of serve with the set going to the tiebreak. Similar to their last encounter at Wimbledon, Halep twice failed to serve out the first set as she was broken to love on both occasions.

The match took a different turn this time round as Halep won the first set tiebreak, seven points to two. Every point in the tiebreak was decided on an error with the pair combining for 15 winners to 42 unforced errors in a scrappy opener.

Things didn’t get much better at the start of the second set as Keys dropped her serve with two poor errors; a forehand miss from a very promising position and a volley into the net. The quality picked up a tad from here on as Keys settled on serve to hold to 1-3 in the second set, snapping a run of three straight breaks on her serve. There was potential for a change in momentum but Halep didn’t allow that, playing a pair of confident service games to inch closer to the title.

Serving for the Championship, Halep quickly went down *0-30; with some help from Keys and her frequently misfiring forehand, Halep won the final four points to win the Rogers Cup for the first time in her career. The stats don’t cover this match in glory; Halep finished with four winners to 17 unforced errors, while Keys ended with 22 winners to 45 unforced errors.

This was a superb week for Halep who secured wins over Daria Gavrilova (#45), Karolina Pliskova (#17), Svetlana Kuznetsova (#11), Angelique Kerber (#2) and Keys (#12). The Romanian player is set to return to number three in the world rankings next week as Toronto points (where Halep reached the final in 2015) have yet to come off the ranking. Halep also teams up with Monica Niculescu in the women’s doubles final later today. Halep, who has opted to skip the Olympics, will next be in action at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

While the final didn’t quite live up to expectation in terms of the quality of tennis on show, it was another fantastic week in Montreal. It was wonderful to see such great crowds in Montreal from the first round and their appreciation for women’s tennis.

Post written by James of Moo’s Tennis Blog

Photo in this post by Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

Angelique Kerber National Bank Open Simona Halep

Halep back in the Rogers Cup final, overcomes mid-match wobble to defeat Kerber in three sets

Post author By Marija
Post date July 30, 2016
No Comments on Halep back in the Rogers Cup final, overcomes mid-match wobble to defeat Kerber in three sets

Simona Halep has reached consecutive finals at the Rogers Cup as she recovered from a *0-2 deficit in the third set to defeat Angelique Kerber, 6-0 3-6 6-2 in one hour and 38 minutes. Halep won the first and last six games in what was a wild match!

Halep played a superb opening set, hitting eight winners to just two unforced errors and looking rock solid from the baseline. She was given quite the helping hand from Kerber though who committed a whopping 20 unforced errors. Kerber’s forehand was sensational in her quarter-final win over Daria Kasatkina on Friday, but it was misfiring in the first set, spraying errors all over the shop.

Kerber won her first game of the match with a hold of serve to open the second set. Halep kept her side of the scoreboard ticking over with some confident holds, showing full belief behind her strokes. Another lapse service game from Kerber saw Halep go up a set and a break to lead 6-0 *3-2 by virtue of a Kerber double fault on break point.

The match began to turn around with Kerber winning two tight deuce games. Halep missed two break points at 3-3, showcasing her frustration as she angrily swiped her racquet and called down her coach, Darren Cahill on the changeover. Kerber’s forehand began to find its mark for the first time in the match, while Halep’s mental focus seriously wavered as the errors started to flow.

All of a sudden Kerber was the steadier of the two players as she won six games on the trot. Kerber won the second set and then went up an early break in the decider. Halep looked to be in trouble down *0-2 *0-30 but with some aggressive and slightly haphazard hitting, dug herself out of trouble to hold serve. Kerber had the momentum but she let Halep back in with a tame service game to forfeit her early advantage in the third set.

Halep went onto win the final six games of the match, securing the crucial break at 3-2. Halep wobbled mid-match but rather impressively managed to rein it back in, with some help from Kerber, who finished the match in error-strewn fashion. Kerber saved three match points but on the fourth, her shot trickled along the tape and wide.

Halep hit two more winners (27 to 25) in the match but the big difference was in the unforced error count; Kerber hit 52 (!) to Halep’s 24. It’s rare to see Kerber produce such negative stats. In truth, she did remarkably well to reach the semi-finals in Montreal having been just two points from defeat against Elina Svitolina in the third round and coming into the tournament with a cloud of uncertainty due to an elbow injury that forced her to pull out of the tournament in Bastad.

Halep is on a nine match winning streak having won her home tournament in Bucharest two weeks ago. This will be her first final in Montreal but a second appearance in the Rogers Cup final having reached the final two in Toronto last year where she lost out to Belinda Bencic. Halep will play either Madison Keys or surprise package, Kristina Kucova in Sunday’s Montreal final.

Post written by James of Moo’s Tennis Blog

Photo in this post by Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

Angelique Kerber National Bank Open Simona Halep

Halep and Kerber to meet in Rogers Cup semifinals

Post author By Marija
Post date July 29, 2016
No Comments on Halep and Kerber to meet in Rogers Cup semifinals

Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber advanced to the semifinals of the Rogers Cup and will have a rematch of their recent Wimbledon quarterfinal, which the German won in two tight sets.

The first to make the final four in Montreal was Halep, who has now won eight straight matches, following triumph on home soil in Bucharest. It was a tricky quarterfinal for the Romanian, with two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova on the other side of the net dictating play in the first set, that included her quick 4-0 lead. Even though Halep polished her game, got one break back and approached Kuznetsova to two games down, 3-5, the set went into the Russian’s hands with a precise forehand on the line at set point, that had to be confirmed through a challenge.

The fifth-seeded Halep completely turned the match around in the second set, breaking right away at its beginning and continuing the momentum to win with a weird 3-6 6-1 6-1 scoreline.

The second quarterfinal of the day was much less intriguing, as the second-seeded Kerber overpowered Daria Kasatkina 6-2 6-2. The 19-year-old underdog was not yet ready to notch the biggest victory of her career.

Halep leads Kerber 3-2 in their head-to-head stats. Kerber won both their 2016 meetings, but Halep won all their matches on hardcourts.

Karolina Pliskova National Bank Open Simona Halep

Halep dispatches Pliskova in straight sets to make Rogers Cup quarterfinals

Post author By Marija
Post date July 29, 2016
No Comments on Halep dispatches Pliskova in straight sets to make Rogers Cup quarterfinals

No.5 seed Simona Halep safely moved into the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup with a straight-set victory over big-serving Karolina Pliskova. It took the Romanian only sixty-seven minutes to finish the match against the WTA leader in aces.

The first set was closer than the score indicates, while in the second set Pliskova became more aggressive to get back to 2-2. Halep then raised her game to close up the set, losing only one more game before winning the match 6-3 6-3.

Halep was very aggressive throughout the match. The level of play was excellent from both players, but Halep was able to make the difference by winning the important points, hitting 22 winners to just nine unforced errors.

“I’m happy that I won today. It’s nice to be in the quarterfinals again, a second year in a row,” last year’s runner-up Halep said after the match. “I enjoy my time here and I’m looking forward to the next round already”.

Halep’s quarterfinal opponent will be Svetlana Kuznetsova, who eliminated Petra Kvitova 7-6(2) 6-3.

Angelique Kerber Simona Halep Wimbledon

Kerber beats Halep in the Wimbledon quarterfinal containing more breaks than holds of serve

Post author By Marija
Post date July 5, 2016
No Comments on Kerber beats Halep in the Wimbledon quarterfinal containing more breaks than holds of serve

Angelique Kerber became the first WTA player to make the semifinals of Wimbledon 2016, beating Simona Halep in a thrilling and awkward match that featured so many breaks of serve that points won on a player’s own serve turned out to be a decisive factor.

The reigning Australian Open champion Kerber opened the quarterfinal with a love hold and amazingly it turned out to be practically a decisive game of the set, as all the way to the tenth game we had one break after the other. Can you imagine that Halep earned her first game point after 33 minutes of play? With that game point the Romanian leveled to 5-5, but in the next game Kerber produced a love hold and easily broke Halep’s serve afterwards, as the world No.5 made a double fault on the break and set point.

The second set was a little bit less weird when it came to holds of serve, but again from 4-2 for the fourth-ranked Kerber we had four straight breaks. Just as in the first set, after ten games the set was in equilibrium at 5-5, but this time Kerber finished the job in the tiebreak. Final score: 7-5 7-6(2).

Kerber’s semifinal opponent will be 36-year-old Venus Williams, who beat Yaroslava Shvedova 7-6(5) 6-2 on No.1 Court in the quarterfinal that took place at the same time as Kerber’s match on Centre Court. (photo: Jimmie48)