Halep wins 21st WTA title in Prague
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PRAGUE • Top seed Simona Halep yesterday won the Prague Open, but the question on everyone's lips was not about the tournament, but rather her participation in the US Open.
The Romanian will make her decision today.
Halep became the fifth most successful active player on the WTA Tour behind Serena and Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters and Petra Kvitova after beating Elise Mertens 6-2, 7-5 in 1 hour and 33 minutes for her 21st career singles title.
The Belgian took a 2-0 lead in the first set, but the Wimbledon champion then won seven games in a row to take the first set and start the second on a high, extending her lead to 4-2.
Leaning on her superb backhand, Mertens put Halep under pressure with her aggressive display, coming back for a 5-4 lead.
But that was it from the 24-year-old as the world No. 2 won the next three games to seal the victory.
The clay-court tournament, just the second since the coronavirus pandemic shut down the sport in March, was played behind closed doors.
"Even the first set was not easy, she's a great opponent and it's always tough to play against her because she's fast," Halep, 28, told public broadcaster Czech Television. "The second set was a little bit tougher but I was strong and that's why I could win this match."
On whether she would join the growing list of absentees at Flushing Meadows, scheduled to start on Aug 31, she added: "Now it's too fast to take a decision, I just want to enjoy this victory and then I will have a thought about the US Open (today)."
Belinda Bencic on Saturday became the fifth top-10 women's player to give the year's second Grand Slam a pass after world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty of Australia, Ukrainian No. 5 Elina Svitolina, seventh-ranked Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens, and defending champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada.
Swiss Bencic said: "I've made the difficult decision to skip the US swing in New York and will return to the Tour starting next month in Rome. I'm looking forward to returning to New York next year."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
