Halep becomes the first Romanian woman to reach a Wimbledon singles final
Thursday 11 July 2019 18:45, UK
Simona Halep produced a dominant performance to defeat eighth seed Elina Svitolina and reach her first Wimbledon final.
The former world No 1 appeared set for a lengthy battle with Svitolina when the opening two games lasted 20 minutes, but the 27-year-old Halep won them both as she sealed a 6-1 6-3 victory in 72 minutes.
Halep, who has only dropped one set, is the first Romanian woman to reach a Wimbledon singles showpiece and will face Serena Williams on Saturday, after the seven-times champion defeated Barbora Strycova 6-1 6-2.
"I think it's a great feeling to face Serena in a Grand Slam final," Halep said.
"If you are able to win, makes it sweeter. If you lose, then you have to look forward for the next one.
"I'm in a good position, honestly. I have no pressure on myself, just positive one. I have expectations for myself that I can do a great job on court Saturday."
The Centre Court crowd, including David Beckham and Sir Richard Branson in the Royal Box, looked certain to watch a evenly-contested encounter - but Halep quickly took control to reach her fifth Grand Slam final.
Halep, who won the French Open last year, broke three times against a shell-shocked Svitolina, who was playing in her first Grand Slam semi-final, as the Romanian sealed the first set on her sixth set point.
Svitolina, who led the head-to-head 4-3 going into the match, offered greater resistance at the start of the second set but lost four games in a row from 3-2 as Halep wrapped up the match in quick fashion.
