Simona Halep Reigns Supreme in Toronto

World number 1, Simona Halep defeated American player Sloane Stephens to clinch the Rogers Cup. The final score read, 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 6-4 in the Romanian’s favour. Halep took nearly 2 hours and 40 minutes to fend off the American challenge.

On the road to the final, she defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round after a bye. In the third round, she stunned Venus Williams 6-2, 6-2. In the quarterfinals, she downed Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia 7-5, 6-1. In the semifinals, she clashed with Australian player Ashleigh Barty, beating her 6-4, 6-1.

Meanwhile, Stephens went up against local favourite Francoise Abanda in the second round. She then defeated Carla Suarez Navarro in the third round 6-2, 7-5. In the quarterfinals, she went up against Anastasija Sevastova and won 6-2, 6-2. Finally, she defeated Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-3 to set up a clash with Halep.

This match can only be classed as a massive baseline battle with numerous twists and turns. But, Halep prevailed to claim her third title of the year. This was in essence, a rematch of the 2018 Roland Garros final between two of the reigning Grand Slam champions. It certainly lived up to expectations, as Roland Garros winner Halep fended off four set points to claim the opening set. Finally, she emerging victorious over the reigning US Open champion Stephens in a tense final set after two hours and 41 minutes of play.

The Romanian started off strong in the opening set before Stephens fought back fiercely. That was when Halep began to make mistakes and allowed Stephens to catch up. Fortunately for the 26-year old, she held on to take the set.

This will be perfect practice for Halep as the final Grand Slam, the US Open approaches. Here is how Twitter reacted to the final.

https://twitter.com/buttadlyte/status/1028738534541283329