Simona Halep marches into Transylvania Open’s final, breezing past Marta Kostyuk, 6-0, 6-1 after just one hour of playing. This is Simona’s first final this season and also her first final on hard indoor since Singapore 2014.
Thanks to this win Simona becomes one of the very few players who have reached at least one final per year for 12 consecutive years. Her first final dates back to 2010, in Fes (WTA 250). Twelve years later, here she is, playing her 40th final of her career, from which she won 22.
Simona goes into Transylvania Open’s final act without losing set, displaying an intimidating game level. She lost only 12 games in four matches, and her service game just once, which proves how dominant she was this week.
As for her opponent in the semifinal, Marta Kostyuk is leaving Cluj with a significant result. Starting next week she will hold her highest ever WTA ranking, no. 51. She may regret not being able to play at full capacity due to a thigh injury, but this loss cannot diminish her solid performance in Cluj.
Sunday, in TO’s singles final, Halep is playing against no. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit. The stakes are very different for the two, as the Estonian is hoping to get the last ticket for Guadalajara. This is their 4th encounter, Simona leading their head-to-head by 3-0: Miami 2017 (6-3, 6-0), Rome 2017 (6-2, 6-4), Australian Open 2020 (6-1, 6-1).
