Simona Halep has won two National Bank Tennis Open titles, including her last in 2018. But the 30-year-old Romanian says she’s a whole different person today.
Halep advanced to the semifinals of the tournament with a 6-4, 7-6 (2) win over American Coco Gauff on Friday afternoon in Toronto.
Halep says she has evolved on and off the court since winning the final of the tournament then called the Rogers Cup four years ago in Montreal.
“I’ve changed a lot, like no one else,” said Halep, who also won the tournament in 2016, also in Montreal.
“As a player, I don’t know exactly what I did, but I feel like I’ve improved on many levels. Then the pandemic arrived and I think it was a bit complicated for everyone. But I’m a better person. I am a better player. It helps me and gives me confidence to work hard. »
The first six seeds of the tournament having all been eliminated before the quarter-finals, the American Jessica Pegula (7e) is the highest ranked among the players still in contention. By virtue of her 6-3, 6-3 victory over Kazakh Yulia Putintseva, Pegula will meet Halep in the semifinals on Saturday.
Halep and Pegula have never faced each other before. During her press conference, the Romanian glanced at a nearby television as Pegula enjoyed a match point.
“It’s going to be a big challenge to face a new opponent, but it’s always like that,” Halep remarked. “But it will be a semi-final and for sure she will play good tennis. She is solid. She’s already at the top. »
The clash between Halep and Gauff was the only quarter-final match featuring two players ranked among the tournament’s top seeds. Halep was 15e and Gauff, 10e.
Halep is now 4-0 against Gauff in singles play on the WTA Tour. The Romanian still sees Gauff, who is only 18, as an increasingly dangerous opponent.
“She is a little stronger. She hits harder and the serve was much stronger today. His backhand is always tough,” described Halep, whose previous duel against Gauff came in Madrid earlier this season.
“I think she’s improved a lot since we met last time. »
Later Friday afternoon, Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and her partner Giuliana Olmos of Mexico advanced to the doubles semifinals with a 2-6, 6-2 (10-0) win over Slovenia’s Andreja Klepac and the Chilean Alexa Guarachi.
Dabrowski and Olmos will have an appointment with the duo made up of American Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Australian Ellen Perez.
Two other quarter-final matches will be scheduled in singles, in the evening. One of them will bring together the Swiss Belinda Bencic, 12e top seed, and Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia. The other game will see Czech Karolina Pliskova, 14e seeded, cross swords with China’s Zheng Qinwen.