Following her spectacular second half of 2013, it was just a matter of time before the million dollar Romanian would break into the top 10. She did it in extraordinary fashion by reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, her best result in a Grand Slam.
There have been a few question marks as to whether she would be able to back-up her breakthrough season. Those got even more intense after her early exit in Sydney, where she lost in straight sets to young American Madison Keys in the opening round. Fortunately, the loss proved just a fluke and Simona was back to her winning ways just in time for Melbourne.
She was quick to adjust to the extreme Australian heat, crushing Polish qualifier Katarzyna Piter 6-0,6-1 in the first round. She then overcame American Varvara Lepchenko and Kazakh Zarina Diyas. The stiffest test came in the fourth round where she met former world No.1, Jelena Jankovic. Simona had defeated the Serb a couple of times in the past, but this time around she really had to dig deep for the victory. The first game of the decider was key, the Romanian won it and run away with the match 6-4,2-6,6-0.
The mental effort took its toll and Simona was drained when she took the court for her quarterfinal clash with Dominika Cibulkova. The Slovak was playing the tennis of her life, putting forth a lethal combination of aggression and precision that left Halep with no answers.
Although she lost a disappointing final battle, the Romanian has plenty to cheer for. The result was enough to guarantee she'll break into the top 10 for the first time on Monday. She becomes just the third Romanian to achieve the feat. The season has just started, so I am sure there are many great things ahead for Simona in 2014. Well done, girl!
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| Although she was crushed 6-3,6-0 by Slovak Dominika Cibulkova in the quarterfinals, Simona achieved her best showing at a Grand Slam. The result is enough to see her break into the top 10. |
photos: GETTY IMAGES
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