The Romanian went down the rabbit hole in the first match, recovering from a set and a break down to defeat fellow rising star, German Annika Beck. Once she cleared this hurdle, Halep cruised through the draw in straight sets to set up a final match-up with comeback kid, Swiss Timea Bacsinszky. The latter produced the surprise of the tournament stunning reigning Wimbledon champion, Czech Petra Kvitova, in the semis.
Although not 100% at her best, Simona put on a flawless performance, ending Timea's Cinderella run with a commanding 6-2,6-2.
"I wasn't feeling very well before the match—I was a little bit sick—so I told myself I have nothing to lose, just go on court, be relaxed, stay focused and fight for every point," Halep explained.
"It worked, and I felt really relaxed today. I'm happy I could play better day by day and match by match here. I'm looking forward to playing like today in the next tournament, maybe even better."
The result strenghtens Halep's credentials going into the Australian Open, where Simona hopes to claim her maiden Grand Slam crown: "I don't want to put any pressure on myself for the Australian Open. I have to be focused there, and I hope to win many matches there, but it'll be tough. I'll just try to do everything I did here."
photo: GETTY IMAGES
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