Simona Halep had a rocket start to the match and she didn’t slow down at nothing until she got the first set 6-0 after 27 minutes. “After the first set, I was trying to forget the first 25 or 30 minutes,” Kerber said after the match. “I was trying to come back and play again, trying to play my game, thinking about every single point actually, and not thinking that I lost the first set 6-0.”
“I know that I can turn around matches like this. I was not too stressful after the first set.”
Halep seemed to keep her confidence with a break for 3-2, but Kerber won the next 4 games and equalled to 1 set all. Kerber got an early lead of 2-0 in the final set, but then it was Halep winning the next 6 games, and therefore, the match. This rollercoaster of a match was finished in 1 hour and 40 minutes, 6-0 3-6 6-2. Reaching the final in Canada will place Simona Halep at No. 3 in the ranking next week. The Romanian will also be the favorite in the final over 10th seed Madison Keys.
Keys, unlike Halep, was a big favorite in her match against World No. 121 Kristina Kucova, and she confirmed her role with a 6-2 6-1 win in under an hour. Kucova held her own against Keys’ strength, throwing the American off a bit with her double handed forehand. After 2-2, when Keys got her first break, it all went downstream for the Slovak. Keys got two breaks on Kucova, and after a set point on Kucova’s serve, she took the first set. She kept on dominating in the second set as well, and after 52 minutes advanced to the final. This win also brought her back to her career high ranking of 9, giving her a shot at Top 8 seeding at the US Open.
As mentioned in the title, Simona Halep will be aiming for the double at the Rogers Cup, teaming up with her compatriot, Monica Niculescu. The Romanian team received a wild card and definitely made the best of it. Their semifinal opponents were Andreja Klepac and Katerina Srebotnik of Slovenia. Halep and Niculescu beat the experienced doubles players 6-3 2-6 10-6. In the final they will be faced with the 4th seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.
