Simona Halep ended Cori Gauff’s fairytale run at Wimbledon 2019 with a 6-3 6-3 win that earned her place in the quarter-finals for the fourth time.
The Romanian, 27, looked in control throughout the match as she served well and manoeuvred the American around the court in trademark style during rallies.
“I’m really happy that I can play in the quarter-final again,” Halep said in her post-match interview. “This is one of my favourite tournaments. It is very special; I enjoy it a lot and I could feel the energy from the crowd on court today.”
She continued, “I feel like the crowd enjoyed the match a lot and I’m happy that I played at a level close to my best.”
Halep broke Gauff in the first game of the match, but the teenager responded impressively to break straight back.
The Romanian then applied huge pressure to the American’s serve in game five. Gauff did well to save two break points, but she netted a backhand to gift Halep the third.
The teenager fought hard to try and break back in game six. However, the Romanian held firm, and she clinched the hold with a sublime sliced forehand winner at full stretch on the run.
After both players battled to holds to make the score 5-3, Halep looked confident in game nine. She benefitted from two errors from Gauff that made it 0-30, then scurried around the court to hit a backhand winner at the net and a forehand winner on the run to seal the set.
Gauff’s dream ends as Halep breezes through
The Romanian earned an early break in the second set. But the American played aggressively in the next game to break straight back for the second time in the match. She then recovered from 0-30 down to level the score at 2-2.
In game six, Gauff made four sloppy errors to hand Halep a break and a 4-2 lead. It seemed like the fairytale run was almost for the 15-year-old.
The former World No.1 then held very easily and earned two match points on the American’s serve in game eight. However, Gauff raised her game to save both and force the Romanian to serve for it.
Halep made no mistake. She held easily to book her place in a Wimbledon quarter-final against Zhang Shuai – a player who beat her the last two times they met.
“I think I can take revenge because she beat me a few times,” the Romanian said. “It’s a big challenge, a new challenge, and a good opportunity.”
