Simona Halep fights back to reach semi-finals of the Rogers Cup
Saturday 15 August 2015 04:05, UK
Romanian second seed Simona Halep reached the semi-finals of the WTA Rogers Cup after roaring back to defeat Polish sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska 0-6 6-3 6-1.
Halep next will face Italy's Sara Errani, who defeated Ukraine qualifier Lesia Tsurenko 6-4 6-4 in another semi-final at the hard-court warm-up event for the US Open, the year's final Grand Slam tournament that begins August 31.
Radwanska won the first seven games of the match, including a rare first set 'bagel', and looked comfortably in control.
But Halep battled to 3-3 in the second set and then seized command, winning eight games in a row to reach the brink of victory.
Radwanska held at love in the penultimate game but Halep matched her in the decider to claim her 300th career singles victory after one hour and 40 minutes on the court.
"It was a tough match," Halep said. "She played an amazing first set. I couldn't move my legs first set. I made many mistakes. But I kept my concentration and a changed a few things and was able to come back."
World No 1 and top seed Serena Williams eased past Italy's Roberta Vinci 6-4 6-3 and will next face Swiss Belinda Bencic in the semi-finals after she upset Serbian fifth seed Ana Ivanovic 6-4 6-2 in the night match.
"It's been a long time since the last time I played her (Vinci), but I think this is the best she's played against me," Williams told the official WTA website.
"Her slice, I think I handled it really well tonight. More than anything, though, I think her serve was what kept her going really strong in the match tonight."
She added: "I definitely feel it's another step in the right direction. I don't feel like I'm at my best or anywhere near it, but I'm going in the right direction."
