Simona Halep conquers Kirsten Flipkens and s-Hertogenbosch – Tennis News
Romanian star, Simona Halep, upset the fourth seed, Kirsten Flipkens, at the Topshelf Open 2013 on Saturday. She recorded a 6-4, 6-2 victory against the Belgian to grab her second WTA title in two weeks.
The Romanian rising star unleashed her true colours to outshine Flipkens in their second meeting. The players last battled each other at the Grand Prix De SAR in Fes and with this victory, she improved to 2-0 in the head-to-head
series against the Belgian.
"It's incredible, because I played really well on grass after a week on clay," the jubilant Romanian was quoted in a courtside interview after earning the limelight. "Today I played well. I was a little bit nervous at the start
but I just tried to fight for every point. She's playing a very difficult game for me, slicing a lot, but I played every point and just kept going, and I won in the end. I'm really happy. I want to enjoy this evening. It's a special moment for me."
Halep cruised to a 3-0 lead with two breaks of serve. Despite losing her serve in the very next game, the Romanian stayed focused. She held her remaining serves with poise and pulled out the opener with a 6-4 score line.
Ranked 32nd in the WTA Premier Rankings, Halep repeated her winning ways in the following set. She reeled off three games and leaped to a 3-0 lead. The Romanian lost her edge in the proceeding game but cashed another
break chance, subsequently taking a 5-1 lead. Halep kept her serve once again and clicked the set with a 6-2 win.
With this title, Halep became the fifth Romanian to capture multiple WTA titles in their career. She is following footsteps of Virginia Ruzici, Irina Spirlea, Ruxandra Dragomir-Ilie and Alexandra Dulgheru.
The Belgian seed on the other hand displayed dismal performance in this battle. She spilled fewer double faults but clobbered a lower first serve ratio of 58 per cent in contrast with Halep’s 62 per cent. Flipkens capitalised on
two out of five break chances but saved only three out of eight breakpoints she came across.
"It was really not easy to play with the wind today - it's especially difficult for me to play in with my serve," the Belgian reflected about her loss against Halep.
This was Flipkens second WTA final berth. She is now looking forward to her performance at the Wimbledon Championships, Major grass court tournament.
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