Romania’s Simona Halep put an end to Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia’s superb run this week by winning the final of the National Bank Tennis Open in three sets of 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 on Sunday afternoon in Toronto.
For Halep, this is the third title at this major tournament in Canada, after his triumphs in 2016 and 2018, in Montreal, when the tournament was known as the Rogers Cup.
The outcome of the match was really decided during the fourth and fifth games of the final set.
After netting a break of serve that brought the set to even serve, Haddad Maia scored the first two points of game four. Halep, however, won the next four for a break that gave her a 3-1 lead.
In the fifth game, serving the Romanian, the same scenario repeated itself and Halep was able to build a 4-1 lead.
In the tiebreak on his serve, Halep probably scored the quintessential point of the match with a cross-country forehand from a desperate position at the baseline that landed just short of the sideline, to the right of Haddad Maia.
After dropping a first match point at 40-0, Halep was able to savor this third triumph on Canadian soil when the Brazilian returned her serve in the net, ending a duel that lasted 2 hours 18 minutes.
With this 24th career title on the WTA Tour, and a second in 2022, Halep, 15th seed of the tournament, will climb to sixth place in the world rankings.
For his part, Haddad Maia will occupy the 16th level when the new rankings are published on Monday. She was 24th at the start of the week.
Her week was marked by victories against four rivals in the top-15, including Lavalloise Leylah Fernandez and world number one Iga Swiatek.
Turnaround situation
Haddad Maia, who had played her semi-final on Saturday evening – Halep had played hers in the afternoon – seemed in better shape than her famous rival at the start of the match, to the point of building a 3-0 lead. thanks to a break in the second game.
From then on, the Romanian turned things around completely and won 25 of the next 36 points, and six straight games to complete the opening set in 50 minutes.
The Brazilian responded with vigor winning the first four games of the second set before Halep ended that push by winning her serve in the fifth game.
Haddad Maia, however, held on this time around, easily winning his serves in games six and eight, forcing a deciding set that would once again showcase Halep’s feisty side. .