By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, May 2, 2022
Simona Halep won five of the final six games topping Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-4 to improve to 7-1 vs. seeded opponents in 2022.
Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open Facebook
Hypnosis isn’t part of Simona Halep’s game plan.
Yet Halep was so precise at times today it looked like she held the tennis ball in a trance.
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Playing clean combinations, Halep streaked through five straight games dismissing Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-4 to seal a spot in her sixth Mutua Madrid Open quarterfinal.
Two-time Madrid champion Halep exploited a shaky second serve from Gauff rallying from 1-4 down and winning 14 of the final 16 points.
"I think I played very well in the first set," Halep said. "When I stayed super focused at 4-All, was really important, have been a little bit more stronger. You know, that was the difference.
"The second set, she changed the tactic and she's been super, super aggressive. It was really tough to return the balls. But then I just calmed down and I found the rhythm. I adjusted myself to her game, and in the end, it was super good that I could actually push her back a little bit."
The 14th-seeded American played a high-quality set and a half. But Gauff lost the range on her second serve spitting up four of her six double faults in the second set, including an unsightly three double-fault game to donate the break.
The 21st-ranked Halep scored her third straight-sets win over Gauff in as many meetings improving her Madrid record to 30-8.
The former world No. 1 has been a stealth seed exterminator this season. Halep, who swept world No. 2 Paula Badosa, 6-3, 6-1 in the second round is now 7-1 vs. seeded opponents in 2022 with her lone loss coming to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in Indian Wells.
Continuing her quest for a record-extending fifth Madrid final, Halep will face veteran Tunisian Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinals.
The eighth-seeded Jabeur, the highest seed still standing, outlasted Olympic gold-medal champion Belinda Bencic 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. Jabeur jabbed nine aces and saved five of six break points in a one hour, 58-minute win.
It’s a disheartening defeat for Gauff, who seemed to be in charge of the second set.
Cruising to a 4-1 second-set lead, Gauff committed self-sabotage on serve.
Holding a 4-2, 40-15 lead, a suddenly skittish Gauff lost her racquet-head speed and pushed a second serve into the bottom of the net. That crack expanded into a chasm as Gauff spit up three double faults in a horror-show service game to donate serve in the seventh game.
Refusing to give away any cheap point, Halep slammed down her second love hold of the set to level after eight games.
Serving struggles seeped into Gauff’s forehand as she got a bit erratic on that wing. Halep made her pay winning eight of the last 10 points to wrap a 77-minute win.
The 30-year-old Halep has won two of three meetings vs. Jabeur; the quarterfinals will be the first time they square off on clay.
"She's super talented, and it's tough," Halep said. "But I won against her, so there is a chance for me, as well."