By Chris Oddo | Sunday, February 16, 2014

 

Simona Halep cracked another milestone on Sunday, winning her first Premier 5 title in Doha to cap off an exhilarating week.

Photo Source: AP

The WTA's most improved player in 2013 is apparently still improving.

Simona Halep won the biggest title of her career on Sunday, taking down Angelique Kerber, 6-2, 6-3, in the final of the Qatar Total Open to notch the first Premier 5 title of her career.

“It was an incredible week for me,” Halep said. “I couldn't believe when I came her that I can win this tournament because I came from indoor—Fed Cup—so I'm really happy and I have to enjoy this moment because It's the best moment in my life.”

Halep, who has now won six of her last seven matches against top ten opposition, defeated three such players in the same even for the first time in her career (Errani, Radwanska, Kerber).

The Constanta, Romania native also becomes the first player from her country to even win the Qatar Total Open, dropping only one set and winning her final ten to take the $441,000 payout.

On Sunday, Halep was in the zone from the start. She broke to love in the first game of the match when Kerber sailed a double-fault, and won nine of the match's first ten points.

In the fifth game she all but clinched the opener when she played brilliant back-to-back points, launching a forehand down-the-line winner on the first and moving Kerber all around the court with angled forehands on the next, for a second service break and a 4-1 lead.

Though Kerber would show flashes of brilliance, the steadier, more precise and more opportunistic Halep clinched the first set then moved ahead in the second when a Kerber ill-advised dropper was easily swatted by a Halep two-handed backhand into the open court for a winner.

Halep would then hold serve, punctuating the sixth game with an ace down the T for a 4-2 lead, and finally close the match when Kerber double-faulted into the net on match point in the ninth game.