After several tries, Simona Halep has won a WTA title. Today was the talented Romanian player's fourth final, and this time, she got it right. Halep defeated Andrea Petkovic 6-3, 6-3 in Nurmberg. Halep, the 7th seed, served especially well; four of her six aces were hit to close service games. Halep also saved all eight break points against her.
The doubles result was an upset. Top seeds Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Kveta Peschke were beaten 2-6, 7-6, 11-9 by Raluca Olaru (another Romanian) and Valeria Solovyeva.
8 comments:
Can't comment on Halep's win because Eurosport hasn't shown it yet. :-( Happy for her, though!
Diane, have you seen the draw for Eastbourne yet? Stosur vs. Petrova in the first round! What did either of them do to deserve THAT?
Beth
And you know what kinds of matches those two tend to play!
Bartoli vs. Pennetta in the first round, too. Makes me think of that incredible 3-hour + affair from Wimbledon 2011--still one of the most high-drama matches of recent times.
In LA, I watched the match live on Eurosport. Halep's only issue, until this week, has been her serve. It was a far better motion in 2009. See YouTube video of her at the Paris Indoors juniors. She is a terrific groundstroker and a great, calm fighter. Recall that she took a set from Serena at Wimbledon last year. I hope that this is the start of something big for her.
Doug, didn't she change her service motion because of an injury--or am I confusing her with someone else?
Someone else. Almost all of the girls have a faulty motion, in that they get the elbow up above the shoulder very early. It should remain BELOW the shoulder until the final swing UP to the ball. Also, only a small handful tuck the elbow back behind the back.
Pete and Serena do it correctly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-rWgP6OvAY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QL1sglyouU Go to 1:40 on that one
Go to 2:04. Halep used to do it correctly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcpXYb6Kma0
Diane, It was Agnieska Radwanska whose shoulder was injured.
Halep had a sore back last year. Minor injury.
Ah, yes. I was thinking it was something more serious.
I do hope Halep continues to work on maintaining her "old" serve, which was inded more effective. I enjoy watching her play.
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