TORONTO –
Simona Halep is a two-time National Bank Open champion and most recently won the Canadian title in 2018. But the 30-year-old says she’s a very different person now.
The Romanian advanced to the semifinals of the tournament after beating Coco Gauff of the United States 6-4, 7-6 on Friday afternoon. Halep said she has evolved on and off the pitch since she last won what was then the Rogers Cup four years ago.
“I’ve changed a lot, including as a person,” said Halep, who also won the 2016 event. “As a player, I don’t know what I’ve done exactly, but I feel like I’ve improved in many aspects. Then the pandemic came, so I think it was a bit of a struggle for everyone.
“But I’m a better person. I’m a better player. It helps me and gives me the confidence to work hard.”
The tournament’s top six seeds were eliminated in the round of 16, making seventh-seeded Jessica Pegula the highest-ranked player of the WTA event. She beat Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals match and will play against Halep on Saturday.
Pegula said that doesn’t mean she has a clear path to her second career title despite being the tournament’s highest seeded survivor.
“I feel like anyone can do well these days,” Pegula said. “And of course I’m playing against Halep, who is a great champion.
“Well no, never easy. It’s nice to see that I’m the highest seed, but I don’t think it really means anything at this point.”
Halep and Pegula have never played together. During their post-match press conference, Halep caught a glimpse of a nearby TV showing Pegula playing for match point against Putintseva.
“It will be a big challenge to face a new opponent, but that’s how it always is,” said Halep. “But it will be a semi-final, so I’m sure she’ll play good tennis.
“She’s solid. She’s already on top.”
Later, Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa and partner Giuliana Olmos of Mexico defeated Andreja Klepac of Slovenia and Alexa Guarachi of Chile 2-6, 6-2 (10) to advance to the doubles semifinals.
Dabrowski and Olmos meet American Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Australian Ellen Perez in the semifinals.
Gauff and Pegula then met in the doubles quarterfinals, winning 6-3, 2-6 (10) over Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands and American Desirae Krawczyk to advance to the semifinals.
The American duo meets Madison Keys from the USA and India’s Sania Mirza, who defeated the Americans Sofia Kenin and Putintseva 7-5, 3-6 (10) in the last doubles quarterfinals on Friday.
Halep and Gauff’s quarterfinals were the only two-seeded singles match at Friday’s National Bank Open. Gauff was 10th seeded in the tournament and Halep is 15th.
Halep is now 4-0 in singles against Gauff on the WTA Tour. She said that the 18-year-old American was becoming more and more dangerous as an opponent.
“She’s a bit stronger. She hits harder and the serve was a lot stronger today. Her backhand is always tough,” said Halep, who last played against Gauff in Madrid earlier this season. “I think she’s improved a lot since we last played.”
In the later quarterfinals, twelfth seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland faced Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil and fourteenth seed Karolina Pliskova faced China’s Zheng Qinwen.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 12, 2022.