By Adrianna Outlaw | Thursday, May 5, 2016
Simona Halep defeated Romanian compatriot Irina-Camelia Begu, 6-3, 0-6, 6-1 to reach the Madrid semifinals for the second time in three years.
Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open
Cinco de Mayo felt like Easter for Simona Halep.
Shutout in the second set, the only seed still standing in this Madrid Open put her foot down in the third.
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The sixth-seeded Halep rolled through the decider defeating Romanian compatriot Irina-Camelia Begu, 6-3, 0-6, 6-1 to reach the Madrid semifinals for the second time in three years.
Asked to explain her second-set stumble when she managed to win just 11 points, Halep replied: " Easter present."
"What can I say? Yeah, I played only first game, and then I was out of the game," Halep told the media in Madrid. "I don't know why. I cannot explain, but I knew that in third set I'm going to be again there."
It is Halep's first final four appearance since she fell to two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Sydney semifinals last January.
Trailing 0-3 in the second set today, Halep called for coach Darren Cahill. She did not win another game in the set, but regrouped in the third, storming out to a 3-0 lead and never looking back.
"Actually at 3-0 when Darren came I knew it's going to be 6-0," Halep said. "Then I have just to restart the game like I did in the first set. First set I played good tennis, and in the third set I just reset my mind and I said I have to start playing again."
The 2014 Madrid finalist will face either 2010 Roland Garros runner-up Samantha Stosur or Romanian qualifier Patricia Maria Tig for a spot in the final.
Tig broke serve seven times topping American Madison Keys, 6-3, 6-4, last night after taking on 16th-seeded Sloane Stephens earlier this week.
Four Romanians—Halep, Begu, Tig and wild card Sorana Cirstea—reached the last eight in an upset-riddled tournament owned by former Romanian pro Ion Tiriac.
"I think it's a big thing for our country," Halep said. "It's a small country, and four girls to be in the quarterfinals of such a big tournament, it means a lot. "I am in the semifinals. Maybe the other two is going to be going in the semis. It's going to be a good thing. Yeah, we have just to enjoy it. We have many fans home, and personal I want to thank them because they were supporting and they were nice today on court as well."
Comeback queen Dominika Cibulkova fought back from a set down for the third straight match, knocking off Cirstea, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Cibulkova will take on American qualifier Louisa Chirico. The New York native backed up her upset of former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic defeating Daria Gavrilova, 7-6 (1), 6-2, in today's first quarterfinal.