Tennis Fans Left Stunned as Jelena Ostapenko Bagels Simona Halep to Reach Dubai Open Final
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via Reuters
Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain – July 3, 2021 Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko in action during her third round match against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic REUTERS/Paul Childs
Today, in the semi-final of the Dubai Open, we saw one of the most bizarre matches of the tournament between Simona Halep and Jelena Ostapenko. The match had many ups and downs, but in the end, Ostapenko outclassed Simona to cause a massive upset.
In the beginning, Simona started the match pretty strongly and won the first set, 6-2. But she lost her rhythm completely during the tie-break in the second set. After losing the tie-break by 0-7, Simona didn’t have anything going for her. Eventually, the 2-time Grand Slam winner lost the match in three sets.
via Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 16, 2021 Romania’s Simona Halep looks dejected after her quarter final match against Serena Williams of the U.S. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
Twitterati react after Halep loses to Ostapenko at Dubai Open
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After winning the first set easily by 6-2, Simona didn’t have a great start in the second set. She got broken early but broke back to level things up. In the end, Ostapenko showed a lot of fight in the second set and won it by 7-6.
Surprisingly, Simona didn’t even win a single game on the third set, as she lost by 0-6. Previously, Simona lost to Ostapenko in the 2017 French Open final, which was a pretty disappointing result for the Romanian.
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Jelena Ostapenko beats Simona Halep 2-6, 7-6(0), 6-0 to reach the final in Dubai. She is getting very close to the top 10 again!
Faces Kudermetova tomorrow
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) February 18, 2022
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Many tennis fans and players reacted on Twitter after Simona’s shocking loss in Dubai. One fan wrote, “Brutal for Simona, who was just entirely overpowered in the end.“
2-6 7-6(0) 6-0 for Ostapenko. Once the bakery was open business was BOOMING. Brutal for Simona, who was just entirely overpowered in the end. #DDFTennis
— Andrew Eccles (@AJEccles) February 18, 2022
Lightning strikes twice.
In their first match since the 2017 French Open final, Jelena Ostapenko beats Simona Halep 2-6, 7-6(0), 6-0, reaching the #DDFTennis final. She's having a pretty impressive year so far.
— Biola Solace-Chukwu (@Beeorlicious) February 18, 2022
Simona literally just gifted that to Jelena😐whatever
— Sarah | Iga Świątek 2022 Doha slam CHAMPION (@whomstissarah) February 18, 2022
Outplayed? She barely won a point. Her career is over.
— Sporting Nest 🇸🇴 (@SportingNest) February 18, 2022
Meanwhile, a disappointed fan wrote, “Simona just doesn’t have anything in her to keep up.“
That's true, probably close to her Peak really. Simona just doesn't have anything in her to keep up (fml those sad returns)
— Raphy Halepeno (@raphyhalepova) February 18, 2022
@Simona_Halep whoa…what happened? You started out strong…Tough loss…I was really hoping you'd make the final…
— Thomas 😎 (@buzzinneon) February 18, 2022
1st final of the year for Ostapenko!
2017 Roland-Garros champ managed to turn the tables to defeat Simona Halep 2-6 7-6 6-0 and reach Dubai final pic.twitter.com/yVtIqDItVv
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) February 18, 2022
I mean, Simona could have won when she could. She gave Ostapenko what she wanted: confidence. She couldn't take advantage of those weak serves again, like that atrocious final. Then her decent/good serve disappeared…
— Gabriel Hernández M. (@Gabriel_Hrnandz) February 18, 2022
That was utter dominance..But Simona was in the match until that 2nd set TB..Frm there on Ostapenko's level was a bit too much for Halep…
— Sgs Vishnu (@SgsVishnu) February 18, 2022
What’s next for Simona?
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Earlier this year, Simona parted ways with two of her coaches after the Australian Open. Before that, in 2021, she also split with her long-time coach, Darren Cahill. Currently, the Romanian is playing without a coach. It seemed like it was working pretty well so far for Simona till the semi-final match in Dubai.
Simona didn’t have a great Australian Open either, as she lost to Alize Cornet in the round of 16. Last year, the former World no.1 was on and off the court due to injuries. She hoped for a better start to 2022 at the Australian Open, which didn’t happen. Now, it will hurt more after losing in Dubai in this manner.
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It will be interesting to see whether she seeks a coach after this exit. Will Simona hire a coach to get back on track? Let us know in the comments.
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