Simona Halep pounded out a 6-2, 6-0 defeat of US qualifier Jennifer Brady on Friday to move into a second career final at the Dubai Champio...
Simona Halep pounded out a 6-2, 6-0 defeat of US qualifier Jennifer Brady on Friday to move into a second career final at the Dubai Championships.
The top seed and world number two will play for the title on Saturday against Elena Rybakina after the Kazakh defeated Petra Martic 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/2) in their earlier semi-final.
“It felt much better than previous matches, I played really well,” said Halep after a 62-minute win which followed having to come back from a set down in both of her previous matches.
“Everything went in, I felt the ball great. I feel like I played the best match since I came here.”
Rybakina is the form player of 2020, now into her fourth final from five tournaments.
The Kazakh, who has now won a WTA-leading 19 matches in 2020, took two and a quarter hours to outlast her more experienced Croatian opponent Martic who led 3-0 in the second set.
Rybakina won the Hobart title last month and finished runner-up in Shenzhen and St Petersburg.
Halep retired in her only previous match with Rybakina in the Wuhan third round last September.
Halep, the 2015 Dubai champion, went into the Brady match with a fitness advantage, having spent just three and a half hours on court while her...
