By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, August 19, 2018
Kiki Bertens blasted an exclamation point to punctuate a declarative championship statement then dropped to her knees shedding tears of joy.
A stubborn Bertens saved a championship point in the second-set tie break and drilled an ace down the middle on her first championship point closing a 2-6, 7-6 (6), 6-2 conquest of Simona Halep to capture her second title of the season in Cincinnati.
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It is Bertens' first career triumph over a world No. 1 player and her eighth consecutive Top 10 victory.
The 26-year-old Dutchwoman denied Halep's quest to make history as the first woman to win Rogers Cup and Cincinnati in succession.
Bertens hit 33 winners—13 more than the top seed—in snapping the Romanian's nine-match winning streak.
"I cannot find words for this moment, I'm so happy," said Bertens after capturing his sixth career championship.
At 5-6 in the tie break, a spirited Bertens denied championship point cranking an inside-out forehand sparking a run of three straight points take the tie break.
A disconsolate Halep struggled to shake off her missed championship point moment, suffering physical fatigue and emotional malaise in the decider as Bertens grew stronger.
"I had match ball," said Halep after bowing in the final for the second year in a row. "So I was there. Didn't take my chance. So in the third set I was empty and I couldn't fight anymore."
At the end of a long 2017 season, a depleted Bertens was so dissatisfied with her game, she briefly considered quitting the sport.
Carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders then, a revitalized Bertens has been a world beater this year.
Ten of Bertens' 13 career Top victories have come this year, including four Top 10 victories—Caroline Wozniacki, Elina Svitolina, Petra Kvitova and Halep—en route to the biggest title of her career and first hard-court crown.
Halep had posted an 18-1 record since the start of Roland Garros with her lone loss in that span a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, defeat to shrewd spin doctor Su-Wei Hsieh at Wimbledon.
Bursting out of the blocks quickly, Halep broke to open and backed up the break at 30.
In the sixth game, Halep found a higher gear.
Cleverly changing direction of her drives, the Montreal champion lasered a pair of forehand winners down the line holding for 4-2.
Fans were waving blue fans in stands while the Dutchwoman dressed in blue tried cooling down the red-hot Romanian.
Patiently probing the corners of the court with crosscourt drives, Halep banged out an error breaking again at 30 for 5-2.
The only slight speed bump came when the Roland Garros champion served for the set.
Down double break point, Halep served her way out of a jam as Bertens failed to put three returns in a row into play, netting a forehand return to end the 30-minute opener.
"Well, at that point I was, like, Okay, the way I'm playing right now, it's not really working," Bertens said. "I had to run too much on the court, and she's, like, really good at that.
"So I was, like, Okay, there is only one chance and you have to play a little bit more aggressive, go a little bit more for your returns and for your serve, and, yeah, that was working."
In a topsy-turvy second set, Bertens snatched a 4-1 lead only to see Halep answer with a three-game run.
Facing break point in the ninth game, Bertens bolted an ace to save it earning a hard-fought hold.
A Bertens backhand collided with the tape and plopped over giving her a set point in the 10th game. Halep defended a 68 mph second serve fending it off and fighting through a hold for 5-all.
A frustrated Bertens tossed her racquet in the air exasperated at lost opportunity.
The 26-year-old Dutchwoman responded with one of her best service games, a bold hold for 6-5.
Resilience and the willingness to let it rip under pressure helped Bertens score seven straight Top 10 wins en route to the final. She showed both qualities in the second-set tie break.
Bertens banged a big serve down the T for a 5-3 tie break edge. Halep answered with a three-point run to earn championship point at 6-5.
Standing up to the stress, Bertens drilled a diagonal forehand to deny championship point. A frustrated Halep netted successive shots as Bertens took the tie break to force a decider.
The world No. 1 is one of the fittest woman in the sport, but Bertens exuded more strength and stamina down the stretch.
"We played many rallies, and it was very physical match," Halep said. "That's why the end I couldn't make it anymore.
"I can say I gave up, because I didn't have energy left. But she played really well, and she really deserves to win that, this title, because her level was very high."
The third set began with three consecutive breaks then Bertens took over bursting through a love hold and blasting a forehand retun down the line to break at love for 4-1 with a 10-point surge.
Bertens slashed an ace on her first championship point, her sixth ace of the day capped her biggest win in two hours, five minutes.
Once Bertens didn't believe she could contend for the biggest titles on hard court.
Fighting back for three-set wins over Grand Slam champions Halep and Kvitova has infused Bertens with self belief that anything is possible.
"I just played so many matches and just keep on going, so many great wins, and that I could really enjoy it," Bertens said. "Winning a title like this, my first hard court title, and then against No. 1 of the world, getting my career high on Monday. I don't know. It's just coming everything together, I guess."