Halep Rolls Into Rome Semifinals

May 15, 2015 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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Photo credit: Calvin Rhoden

Simona Halep made quick work of her compatriot Alexandra Dulgheru on Friday, beating the Romanian qualifier 6-1, 6-0 to reach the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.

Halep secured her first break in the fourth game of the first set and never looked back. She forced Dulgheru to chase down balls all across the court, as Dulgheru never looked comfortable.

In the second set, Halep won more than 70 percent of the points on Dulgerhu’s serve, and disposed of her long-time friend in just 56 minutes.

“Today it was a pretty good match, I was very solid,” said Halep. “She was tired as well because she had many long matches before today, so I had an advantage over her. It’s not easy to play against one Romanian, but during the match you forget against who you play, just go on court and do your job.”

Halep will play the 10th-seeded Spaniard Carla Suarez-Navarro in the semis. Suarez-Navarro also cruised in straight sets in her quarterfinal match, downing fourth-seed Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-2 to advance.

“I think that I played really solid. But sometimes I was aggressive, which is important against Petra because she hits the ball so well,” said Suarez-Navarro. “I was focused on my game and fighting for each point.

I’m playing much more aggressive now. I am also feeling much more confident and just enjoying every match I play.”

Suarez-Navarro won five break points in six chances to easily move past Kvitova.

The other semifinal will be between two Russians, Daria Gavrilova and third-seed Maria Sharapova.

Gavrilova coasted past American Christina McHale 6-2, 6-4 on Friday to reach the final four.

Sharapova met Victoria Azarenka in a star-studded quarterfinal contest and controlled the pace of the match from the onset, beating the Belarus native 6-3, 6-2.

Gavrilova and Sharapova have met just once previously, in Miami earlier this year. Gavrilova won that meeting for the first top 10 win of her career.


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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