Saturday, June 15, 2013

Halep wins first WTA title

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.
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8 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 15, 2013 at 2:25 PM

    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

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  2. DianeJune 15, 2013 at 3:19 PM

    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.

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  3. DougJune 15, 2013 at 5:08 PM

    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.

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  4. DianeJune 15, 2013 at 7:08 PM

    Doug, didn't she change her service motion because of an injury--or am I confusing her with someone else?

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  5. DougJune 16, 2013 at 12:14 AM

    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

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  6. AnonymousJune 16, 2013 at 11:44 AM

    Diane, It was Agnieska Radwanska whose shoulder was injured.

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  7. AnonymousJune 16, 2013 at 12:20 PM

    Halep had a sore back last year. Minor injury.

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  8. DianeJune 16, 2013 at 12:54 PM

    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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