Simona Halep was the first player to reach the quarter-finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: In her opening match, the world number one from Romania defeated Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova (WTA No. 18) in an exciting match over 1:53 hours with 4:6, 6:2, 6:3. 26-year-old Halep will face either defending champion Laura Siegemund (Metzingen) or Coco Vandeweghe from the USA on Friday, who will face off in the round of 16.
Halep had reached the semi-finals of the indoor sand court event in the Swabian metropolis twice so far – most recently last season, when she lost the duel with Siegemund. The industry leader has high goals in Stuttgart.
“I want to do better than in previous years and show why I am number one in the world rankings. I am confident that I will succeed,” said Halep, who also had her eye on the sponsor’s 365-horsepower winning sports car: “Of course I also want to win the car.
However, the 26-year-old had some trouble against the strongly playing Rybarikova. The decisive break in the third set was 4:2, with “Simona, Simona” chants echoing through the hall again and again. Halep, who had been in the Australian Open final in January but is still waiting for her first Grand Slam title, likes to play on sand. She reached the final at the French Open in 2014 and 2017.
But the right-hander from Constanta has particular respect for the quality of the field of participants this week. “The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is a very special tournament with a line-up almost like a Grand Slam event. That’s why you play against strong opponents right from the start and hardly have time to get used to the pitch,” said Halep.
The Romanian, who is only 1.68 meters tall, gained self-confidence last weekend in the Fed Cup. In the hosts’ 3-1 victory in Cluj-Napoca against Switzerland, national hero Halep contributed two individual victories and kept her team in the World Group.