Over the years, Serena Williams has had numerous on-court rivalries. One that took center stage in recent years was her rivalry against Simona Halep. Being two of the most prominent players, Williams and Halep often faced each other in the latter stages of several tournaments.

Recently, Williams left the entire tennis world in despair with the announcement of her retirement from the sport. Being someone who has shared the court with Serena numerous times in her career, it was needless to say that Halep went back in time, recalling her memories of the legendary American. Reliving the memories, Halep went on to praise Serena for her domination of the WTA tour.

Simona Halep, all praise for rival Serena Williams

Polishing her skills for the 2022 US Open later this month, Halep is currently in Toronto playing the Canadian Open. Following her third-round win over Jil Teichmann, the Romanian player  recalled her semifinal clash against Serena at the 2013 Italian Open. 

Being in a dominant position, Serena faced no difficulty in outplaying Halep 6-3, 6-0. Recalling the loss, Halep said, “I remember 2013 when I played against her in semis in Rome. She killed me.”

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Walking down memory lane, one can recall 2013 as one of the most successful years for Serena Williams. In 2013, Serena won two Grand Slam titles, along with numerous other tour titles. However, dissecting the wins, one can see that 2013 was the year Serena dominated the clay court. A surface on which she has the lowest success rate.

Serena’s incredible clay-court campaign in 2013

Starting with a win at the Charleston Open, she went on to win the Madrid Open, the Italian Open, and finally the French Open. Recalling the dominance of Serena, Halep continued,

“But that year she didn’t lose a match on clay. So she was the only one who dominated tennis few years in a row.” Being a witness to the mastery of Serena, Halep further added, “And I think that that’s not going to happen again.”

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The 2013 Italian Open was just the second clash between the two. Going ahead in their careers, the two faced each other a number of times, with Serena taking a commanding lead in the head-to-head race by a score of 10-2.

With just the Cincinnati and the US Open left for Serena in her incredible career, do you think that the tennis world would see one last clash between Halep and Serena? Do let us know in the comments below.