By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, February 15, 2018
A spirited Simona Halep roared through five straight games rallying past nemesis Elina Svitolina, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, to reach the Doha final.
Photo credit: Qatar Tennis Facebook
Some players wear their hearts on their sleeves.
A steely Simona Halep turned the desert into the heartland.
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Showing spirited fight, Halep charged back from a 1-4 third-set deficit roaring through five straight games rallying past nemesis Elina Svitolina, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, to reach the Doha final.
Pounding her fist against her heart in celebration, the 2014 champion charged into her into her 34th final.
Halep, who uses a heart-shaped vibration dampner in her Wilson racquet, will play for her 19th title in tomorrow's final against Elise Mertens.
The 21st-ranked Mertens defeated three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1.
Exhorted by Romanian fans chanting "Simona! Simona!", Halep fended off multiple break points ina gritty eight-minute hold for 2-4 that sparked her comeback.
The top-seeded Halep showed tremendous resilience refusing to yield to a woman who had won seven of their last nine sets, including a 6-0, 6-4 thrashing in the Rome final last May.
A gritty Halep, who will rise to the world No. 2 ranking on Monday, summed up a superb comeback simply.
"(I did it) with my heart and with my mind," Halep said. "I didn't give up. I promised myself I would never give up against her again.
"I said I have to be strong against her. She's a very strong opponent and a good fighter. It's unbelievable I can win this. I'm really happy. I was strong in my legs. I was not tired and I won."
It's a gut-wrenching loss for Svitolina, who could have returned to the Top 5 reaching the final.
Svitolina streaked through five straight game seizing the second set and building a 3-0 lead in the third.
Ultimately, Svitolina played more passively with the lead than she played building the advantage and could not stall Halep's tear.
Halep played heart-breaker beating Svitolina for the first time since the 2017 Roland Garros quarterfinals when she fought back from a 6-3, 5-1 deficit and saved a match point winning 11 of the last 12 games stunning Svitolina, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-0.
"It means a lot and I have great memories from this tournament in 2014 when I won it," Halep said. "To have another chance to play for that beautiful trophy and to play in front of this crows is pretty awesome."
Targeting the Ukrainian's forehand, Halep drew a couple of netted forehands then skidded a shot off the baseline working through a demanding hold for 4-2.
The seventh-ranked Svitolina slashed an ace to seal the seventh game, but was under pressure again in the ninth game. Svitolina saved two set points but pushed a double fault into net on the third set point as Halep snatched the 39-minute opener—her first set against Svitolina since the 2017 Roland Garros quarterfinals.
After a consultation with coach Andrew Bettles, who urged her to recognize mid-court opportunities and move up to the ball quicker, a revitalized Svitolina showed faster feet and flashed a forehand winner down the line breaking at 15 for a 2-1 second-set lead.
Svitolina backed up the break in the fourth game. Anticipating the direction of her opponent's drives, Svitolina was getting a racquet on nearly every ball as she broke to snatch the second set and force a decider after 77 minutes of play.
A streaking Svitolina broke in the second game of then held winning her fifth straight game for a 3-0 lead.
Making a fierce stand in that grueling eight-minute sixth game, Halep stood strong, held for 2-4 and never looked back closing in two hours, nine minutes to raise her 2019 record to 8-2.