Simona Halep cruised past Ukrainian teenager Marta Kostyuk 6-0, 6-1 on Saturday to advance to the final at her home tournament, the Transylvania Open.
The No. 1 seed put on a dominant semifinal performance, breaking Kostyuk six times and serving at 71 percent. Halep also kept her unforced errors to 12 while forcing 38 from the Ukrainian teen. Saturday’s victory marks Halep’s 12th straight season reaching a WTA final.
Clinical performance from @Simona_Halep 😤She's into her first final of 2021 on home turf! 🇷🇴#TransylvaniaOpen pic.twitter.com/uejJPu750s— wta (@WTA) October 30, 2021
Clinical performance from @Simona_Halep 😤She's into her first final of 2021 on home turf! 🇷🇴#TransylvaniaOpen pic.twitter.com/uejJPu750s
“I really wanted to play the final here. It’s a home tournament and always when I come here, I feel great. I’m really happy, motivated and I’m looking forward to play the final tomorrow,” Halep said after the match.
The 30-year-old will face off against No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit, who is sitting on a nine-game winning streak after beating Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson 6-3, 6-2 in Saturday’s semifinal.
Kontaveit will look for her first win against Halep on Sunday, falling to the Romanian in their last three meetings. A win at the Transylvania Open would secure Kontaveit a place in the Akron WTA Finals Guadalajara, surpassing Ons Jabeur for the 8th and final spot.