Serena Williams beats Simona Halep to win Cincinnati title
Sunday 23 August 2015 22:54, UK
Defending champion Serena Williams finished her last warm-up for the US Open in style by beating Romanian third seed Simona Halep 6-3 7-6(5) to win the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Sunday.
For the top-seeded American, the triumph sent a message that she is in top form as she now sets her sights on a calendar sweep - the Serena Slam - of the four Grand Slams at the US Open, shown live on Sky Sports from August 31.
Halep had a solid start and broke Williams in the opening game of the first set but the American, who turns 34 next month, recovered to win the final five games.
Halep was the runner-up at Toronto a week earlier and was hoping to beat Williams for the second time in less than a year after she upset her at the WTA Finals in October.
In the second and final set, the opponents traded early breaks but Williams took it to another level in the tie-break and wrapped the match up in 69 minutes.
It marked the fifth title of the year for Williams following wins at the Australian Open, in Miami and at the French Open and Wimbledon.
The win was also the 69th career title for Williams and moved her ahead of Evonne Goolagong and into fifth place on the all-time list.
