Romanian tennis player Simona Halep qualified for the semi-final of the 768,680-dollar WTA 500 tournament in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), on Thursday, after defeating by 6-4, 6-3, Tunisian Ons Jabeur.
Halep (30 years old, #23 WTA) has ensured her presence in the semifinals in Dubai for the third time, after winning the titles in 2015 and 2020.
The former world leader showed consistency against her unpredictable opponent, who managed many spectacular shots, but also committed many errors (45 unforced errors, compared to 17 by Simona).
Halep won in one hour and 20 minutes against the Jabeur (27 years old, #10 WTA)
Simona Halep started the game well and led by 2-0, but was caught up, 2-2. Halep had many good moments in the game and managed to break to 5-2, Jabeur (27 years old) closed in to 5-4, but Halep closed the set with a break (6-4).
Jabeur had a good debut in the second act, going to 2-0, but Halep made a spectacular recovery, with five games in a row to close out 6-3, Agerpres.ro informs.
Halep now leads 2-1 in direct match-ups against Jabeur. In 2018, in the first round of the Beijing tournament, the Tunisian won after Simona abandoned, while in 2020, in the round of 16 in Dubai, Halep won by 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7).
Halep ensured for herself a check worth 37,500 dollars and 185 WTA points.
The Romanian will face off in the next to last act against Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, who clinched victory by 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (9) against Czech player Petra Kvitova, after two hours and 39 minutes.
Halep and Ostapenko (24 years old, #21 WTA) will face off for the third time, after the Latvian defeated Halep in the Roland Garros finals 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, in 2017, and Halep returned the favor that same year, in the Beijing semifinals, 6-2, 6-4.
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