By Adrianna Outlaw | Saturday, May 16, 2015

 

Carla Suarez Navarro rallied past Simona Halep, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, to reach the Rome final for the first time.

Photo credit: Internazionali BNL D'Italia

A weary Carla Suarez Navarro dug in with defiance, winning the last three games games to subdue world No. 2 Simona Halep, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 and advance to the Rome final for the first time.

Suarez Navarro knows how to complete the finishing kick. She raised her three-set record to a WTA-best 15-3 in 2015.

Contesting her third final of the season, Suarez Navarro will play either reigning Roland Garros champion Maria Sharapova or 78th-ranked Russian qualifier Daria Gavrilova for the championship. If Sharapova reaches the final, she is projected to surpass Halep for the No. 2 spot when the new WTA rankings are released on Monday.

More: Sharapova Sweeps Azarenka to Reach Rome Semifinals

Suarez Navarro evened her head-to-head series with Halep at 5-5; she has now won all four of her clay-court meetings with the 2014 French Open finalist.

It was a match of momentum shifts as the 10th-seeded Spaniard won the opening two games, before Halep reeled off seven straight games, seizing the 35-minute first set with a backhand winner down the line.

Suarez Navarro broke back in the second game of the second set then earned her first hold since the opening game for a 2-1 lead. Playing sharper angles to stretch the French Open finalist, Suarez Navarro took control of the second set.

The 23-year-old Romanian would not relent without a fight, saving six set points. Suarez Navarro clinched the second set on her seventh set point when Halep netted a backhand.

Mixing her slice backhand with her heavier topspin forehand, the Spaniard played cleaner tennis in the set. Halep doubled Suarez Navarro's unforced error total (24 to 12) in the 51-minute second set. For the seventh time in 10 career meetings, the pair went the distance.

The decisive set featured eight straight breaks. When Suarez Navarro put a weary forehand return into net, Halep had the first hold of the final set for 5-4. Suarez Navarro climbed out of a 0-30 hole holding for 5-5.

That hold empowered the 10th seed, who broke for the fifth time in the set, then stepped up to serve for the final.

Suarez Navarro earned her first match point after two hours, 25 minutes, but could not convert, netting a backhand. She slapped a forehand long and Halep had break point, but the Romanian missed a forehand long then narrowly missed a forehand return down the line.

On her second match point, Suarez Navarro could not handle a low forehand.

Halep was in command of the next pint when she closed at net, but Suarez Navarro anticipated the Romanian's shot and moved to the spot, flicking a backhand pass down the line for match point number three. Halep netted a running forehand and a weary Suarez Navarro raised a fist ending the two hour, 29-minute drama. Her coach looked like he might shed a tear.

The highest-ranked woman with a one-handed backhand raised her record to 4-5 against Top 5 opponents in 2015. Before the season began, Suarez Navarro was 3-18 lifetime vs. Top 5 opposition.