Simona soars into Qatar quarters
Top seed Simona Halep eased into the last eight of the Qatar Total Open on Wednesday with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko.
Fresh off helping Romania reach the Fed Cup semifinals for the first time in its history, Halep got off to a winning start in Doha as she improved her head-to-head against the Ukrainian No.2 to a perfect 6-0
The Romanian held off a brief challenge from Tsurenko to seal the first set, and later won the last five games of the match to seal a spot in the last eight, and a return to World No.2 in the rankings.
“I’m happy that I could win in that way, it’s always tough to play against her because she doesn’t give pace,” said Simona. “She has a strange game in the direction that she feels the ball really well. It’s not easy to hit the ball from her balls. Yeah, it’s always tough, but I got the feeling against her, and maybe that’s why I can win every time I play against her.”
Halep’s foe in the quarterfinals will be No.9 seed Julia Goerges, who won a marathon match against American lucky loser Alison Riske, 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-4, from 4-2 down in the final set.
“I know that she has a big serve, has a big forehand,” Simona said of Goerges. “I will see, and I have to be confident because I feel good on court. I have good mood, so I have my chance. I will fight for it.”
To read the full report from www.wtatennis.com please click here
Photo credit: Jimmie48Photography
