I am amazed every time I see Simona reach another career milestone. It feels so incredible to witness the transformation of this player who went from being ranked in the mid 50s to one of the elite top 10 players of the WTA tour basically overnight.
After a solid run at the Australian Open and a few hiccups in Sydney and Paris, the Romanian caught fire once again in Doha. At the Premier event in Qatar, Simona was on the brink of defeat in the first round when she came back from 3-5 down in the decider to defeat Estonian Kaia Kanepi. Having survived the major scare, Halep unleashed her beautiful, inteligent game. After a quick dismissal of German younger Annika Beck, the Romanian showed her class stunning a trio of ten top players to win the biggest title of her career. First it was the fiesty Italian, Sara Errani. Then the ever-dangerous Pole, Aga Radwanska, and ultimately, Germany's best, Angelique Kerber. All these victories came in straight sets emphasizing once more Simona's great progress.
"The first round was very difficult for me because I came from indoors at Fed Cup and it was pretty tough to adapt quickly—I had just one day to practice here," she said. "Kanepi had 5-3 in the third set against me and I called my coach on court, and I just told him, 'It's over, I lost the match.' But he said I can win that one. And I did. And then I got more confident with my serve. I started to believe I had a chance at this tournament. I was fighting for every point and found my game again." Halep is now 7-0 in finals since last June, plus she is on a six-match winning streak against fellow top ten opponents.
I am not sure how high can she go, but Simona is proving to be the real deal. I am pleasantly surprised by the fact that she is able to follow up on a breakthrough 2013 in such stellar fashion. She has the game and she is showing tremendous mental strength, so you'd say sky is the limit for the talented Romanian. You never know, but I wouldn't be surprised if she makes a Grand Slam final this year. The victory in Doha proved she is capable of such a performance. Let's go, Simona!
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| Simona Halep continued her amazing run by storming to victory at the Premier event in Doha. In the final, the talented Romanian got the better of Germany's best. Angelique Kerber, winning the biggest title of her career after a 6-2,6-3 victory. |
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