Simona Halep wins Qatar Open final
Simona Halep confirmed her status as the WTA’s tour’s rising star as she collected the biggest prize of her career with an impressive 6-2, 6-3 victory over Angelique Kerber in the Qatar Open final.
The 22-year-old seventh seed Romanian - who was winning her third WTA title - eased to victory over the 26-year-old sixth seeded German, to add her to other impressive conquests this week the second and fourth seeds, Agnieszka Radwanska and Sara Errani.
Once again the pace of Halep’s hitting, and her daring play, placed a more experienced and more highly rated opponent under such continuous pressure that she forced uncharacteristic errors.
Only briefly did she falter, at the start of the second set when she went 1-2 down, but she quickly regained the momentum.
At the end the tenacious and usually consistent Kerber concluded the one-sided contest with a double fault.
"I never believed I could win the tournament when I came here,” said Halep, who reached the world’s top 10 for the first time only last month.
"I had been competing indoors, but mentally I am very strong and I got the feel of the balls and the court here very well. I have to enjoy this now as the best moment of my life."
Source: The Peninsula | Images: Ray Toh in the QL Flickr group
