Simona Halep ended her quest for a maiden Grand Slam title in emphatic style, coming back from a set down to defeat Sloane Stephens by 3-6 6-4 6-1. At the French Open and lift the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen.
At last: Halep Wins Roland-Garros and Grand Slam champion.
Simona Halep found herself a set and a break down to Sloane Stephens, looking down the barrel of her fourth defeat in a Grand Slam final. She didn’t much like the view, the match started out with Stephens fully in charge. The American’s patient and aggressive style of tennis forced Halep to go for bigger shots - and drew out unforced errors.
With the weight of global expectation on her shoulders, Halep forced her way back, past an opponent playing with the freedom of one who has already exceeded expectation by reaching the final. This time, the Romanian would not be defeated, pushing on through exhaustion all the way to victory. The world No.1 is at last a Grand Slam champion.
Her women's singles WTA World No.1 ranking was also under fire throughout the whole tournament - she fought off six challengers and needed to return to the final to stay at the top.
"It was amazing and I felt your support," Halep told the crowd during an on-court interview after the final.
"In the last game I felt I cannot breathe any more. So I just tried not to repeat the (outcome from) last year. So I did everything I could, it's amazing what is happening now. Honestly I cannot believe it. I was dreaming for this moment since I started to play tennis. I'm really happy that it's happened in Roland-Garros in Paris. My special city."
0 comments:
Post a Comment