Serena Williams, like in last year’s final defeat by Angelique Kerber,
seemed weighed down by public and personal expectations as she quickly fell 4-0
behind in the opening set.
Simona Halep had said beforehand that she had no pressure on her and that is
exactly how she played.
Defeat means Serena Williams’ wait for a first Grand Slam title since becoming a mum continues, as does her pursuit of an eighth Wimbledon singles title.
Simona Halep had lost nine of her
previous 10 meetings with Serena Williams.
She has now won the past two Grand
Slam finals she has appeared in, having been defeated in the three before that.
Serena Williams has lost her past three.
Although 56 minutes is a quick
victory, it is some way off the fastest Grand Slam final win – Steffi Graf’s
34-minute French Open win of 1988.
Simona Halep, who began the championships as world No 7, will rise to No 4 when the next rankings are published on Monday, July 15.
Simona Halep, the current world No 1, finally won her first Grand Slam title with a gutsy comeback victory over American 10th seed Sloane Stephens in this year’s French Open final.
The 26-year-old had lost in two previous French Open finals – to Maria Sharapova in 2014 and Jelena Ostapenko in 2017 – and against Caroline Wozniacki in this year’s Australian Open showpiece.
Simona Halep, went a set and a break down at Roland Garros.
However, the Romanian battled back to take a see-saw second set against the US Open champion.
Simona Halep then raced away with the third to win 3-6 6-4 6-1.
She said in the build-up to this match that she felt relaxed and would not be fazed by the pressure of winning her first Slam.
After the match, Simona Halep said: “I did everything I could. It is amazing what is happening now.
“I have been dreaming for this moment since I started playing tennis.”
Simona Halep clinched victory with her first match point, Stephens unable to return a powerful first serve.
The top seed dropped her racquet in celebration, covering her face with both hands before Sloane Stephens walked around the net to warmly hug the champion.
Given a standing ovation by the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd, a tearful Simona Halep climbed into the stand behind the baseline to celebrate with her family and coaching team.
Serena Williams set a new Grand Slam record of 308 victories with a win over Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan at the US Open in New York.
The world number one won 6-2 6-3 to pass Roger Federer in the all-time list of matches won at the tennis majors.
Serena Williams, 34, moves on to the quarter-finals, where she will face Romanian fifth seed Simona Halep, who beat Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2 7-5.
“It’s a huge number,” Serena Williams said of her record 308th win.
Image source Flickr
“I think it’s very significant actually. I definitely never thought I would be playing still. Now I don’t really see when I’m going to stop.
“I’m just enjoying these moments out here, getting to break records that I didn’t even know existed or I didn’t even know was possible.”
Simona Halep has lost seven of eight matches against Serena Williams but hopes that will at least keep the pressure off in their quarter-final.
Ana Konjuh became the first Croat to reach the women’s quarter-finals at the US Open with a shock 6-4, 6-4 win over fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska.
The 18-year-old hit 38 winners including six aces as she avenged a second-round loss to her Polish opponent at Wimbledon.
“It’s been an incredible night,” said Ana Konjuh after she made it past the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
Romanian Simona Halep has won Indian Wells tournament after beating Serbian Jelena Jankovic 2-6 7-5 6-4.
2010 Indian Wells champion Jelena Jankovic, 30, looked in control after winning the first set with three breaks of serve and breaking early in set two.
World No 3 Simona Halep, 23, broke the Serb four times in a second set that saw six successive breaks.
The decider was also dominated by breaks of serve with four in a row but Simona Halep held at 3-3 and recorded the 18th break of the match to win it.
“Simona was unbelievable,” said Jelena Jankovic.
“We were running like two dogs and in the end I couldn’t keep up any more. She’s the younger one.”
Simona Halep, who received a bye to the final after Serena Williams pulled out of their semi-final with an injury, was expected to be fresher, having had three days off.
But it was Jelena Jankovic who began more aggressively, breaking in the opening game.
Simona Halep broke back immediately but two more breaks by Jelena Jankovic saw her wrap up the first set.
The second set was a topsy-turvy affair with the players exchanging six breaks of serve before Simona Halep held and broke Jelena Jankovic to level the match.
The momentum seemed to be with the Romanian with a tiring Jelena Jankovic repeatedly looking to her coach for inspiration.
The former world No 1 broke fortuitously in game three when a backhand clipped the top of the net and landed in.
That sparked another flurry of service breaks that saw the score move on to 3-3.
Eventually Simona Halep held and then broke Jelena Jankovic’s serve to lead 5-3 but the Serb summoned up enough energy to hit back in the next.
However, fittingly, the match ended with another break.
A ninth double fault gifted Simona Halep three Championship points and she powered a forehand down the middle of the court to wrap up the biggest win of her career in two hours and 37 minutes.
Serena Williams has decided to withdraw from her semi-final at this year’s Indian Wells Masters, also known by its current sponsored name BNP Paribas Open, because of a right knee injury.
World’s No 1 tennis player was set to play third-seeded Simona Halep of Romania in the second semi-final.
Serena Williams, 33, was playing at Indian Wells for the first time in 14 years, having ended her boycott that began after she won the title in 2001 and was booed.
Simona Halep, 23, will face Jelena Jankovic in the final after the Serb fought back to beat Sabine Lisicki 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
In a post on her official Instagram account, Serena Williams wrote: “Four months ago I began a journey to play Indian Wells and it was amazing.
“I never dreamed I could do it. But I would not have been able to do this without my fans.
“Though it ended early due to injury this year, I have to say I cannot wait to try again next year.”
Serena Williams gave a fiery display of her fighting spirit on October 25 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium during her WTA Finals semi-final against good friend Caroline Wozniacki.
Serena Williams beat Caroline Wozniacki in a thrilling contest to reach her third consecutive final at the WTA Tour Finals in Singapore.
The world No 1 had a 9-1 head-to-head record going into the game against the Dane, but got off to a slow start in the opening set.
Her frustration came to a boil when she went 5-2 down after sending the ball into the net.
Serena Williams, 33, proceeded to smash her racket multiple times into the ground, leaving it in an obliterated, mangled mess. Her act left the crowd gasping and earned her a warning from the chair umpire.
Serena Williams gave a fiery display of her fighting spirit at the Singapore Indoor Stadium during her WTA Finals semi-final against good friend Caroline Wozniacki
“I don’t know how many times I hit it, but boy, that racket will never do me wrong again, I tell you,” Serena Williams said of her angry outburst in the first set.
“It was definitely legendary. I kind of lost my cool a little bit. I thought, well, at least you know I’m passionate. I give 200%.
“When I play, doesn’t matter how I feel, I’m going to give everything I have for every shot and every point.”
Serena Williams will face a rematch against Simona Halep on October 26, four days after suffering her heaviest defeat in 16 years against the Romanian in the group stage.
Simona Halep, 23, broke Agnieszka Radwanska’s serve five times and hit 26 clean winners as she swept past the Pole to reach the final on her first appearance at the WTA season finale.
Romanian Simona Halep beat Serena Williams for the first time as the world No 1 was swept aside in the WTA Finals in Singapore on October 22.
Simona Halep, 23, took advantage of an error-strewn display from the defending champion to make it two wins out of two in the Red Group, coasting to a 6-0 6-2 victory in just 65 minutes.
An out-of-sorts Serena Williams, 33, was made to pay for 36 unforced errors and seven double faults as Simona Halep beat a player ranked in the top three in the world for the first time at the ninth attempt.
Eighteen-time grand-slam winner Serena Williams allowed her frustration to get the better of her as the ruthless Simona Halep took a giant stride towards the semi-finals in her first appearance in the season-ending event.
Simona Halep wrapped up the first set in just 20 minutes, with Serena Williams suffering the embarrassment of losing 6-0 in a set for the first time this year and only the eighth time in her remarkable career.
Simona Halep beat Serena Williams for the first time as the world No 1 was swept aside in the WTA Finals in Singapore
Serena Williams struggled on serve throughout and French Open finalist Simona Halep made her pay, taking three of the four break points that she fashioned and not giving her opponent an opportunity to break back.
Six of Serena Williams’ double faults came in the opening set and that set the tone for a one-sided match, as she was unable to turn the tide.
Simona Halep broke yet again in the first game of the second set and fended off two break points to go 2-0 up.
It took the favorite 37 minutes to get on the board by making it 2-1, but even that proved to be a false dawn as Simona Halep had a spring in her step and broke again to lead 4-1.
Serena Williams was unable to take a break point that might have given her a glimmer of hope in the following game and Simona Halep sealed a memorable victory by converting her third match point to leave the defending champion stunned.
One of Wimbledon tennis tournament’s most storied traditions is the all-white dress code, which has been in effect at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club since 1877, even before the championships began.
Previously, some female players have tried to skirt the rule by donning a splash of color underneath their all-white outfits, like Serena Williams did in 2013.
So the officials introduced a stricter edict in 2014 that said: “Undergarments that either are or can be visible during play (including due to perspiration) must also be completely white and contain no more than 1cm of coloured trim.”
Former Wimbledon winner Pat Cash, who was forced to withdraw from the Wimbledon Majors tournament after his tennis shoes failed to pass dress code muster, called this rule “archaic.”
However, according to The Irish Examiner, Caroline Wozniacki didn’t see any uproar in the locker rooms over the newly-amended rule.
Wimbledon’s all-white dress code has been in effect since 1877, even before the championships began (photo Getty Images)
“I guess white is white and everyone wears white. It’s the same for everyone,” she said.
“I don’t think anyone is like showing off their underwear like that and getting it checked. That would be pretty creepy.”
“If we are playing in white, we should wear white underwear. But it’s kind of weird officials coming and checking. I think it’s strange,” Czech player Barbora Zahlavova Strycova reportedly said after her match against Li Na on Friday.
Third-seed Simona Halep didn’t mind the all-white rule at all.
“I think it’s special to play here. They have the special rules because you have to be in white. I think it’s not really difficult to get white clothes,” the Irish Examiner reported Simona Halep as saying.
“So I like this tradition. It’s really nice to see everybody in white clothes.”
Venus Williams had said that she would wear a splash of color under her Wimbledon whites in her Twitter feed: “RT @EleVenbyVenus: I may be in Wimbledon whites, but an EleVen #fashion show of color is underneath. #tiedye#python.”
After her win on Wednesday, Venus Williams told the Irish Independent: “I think it’s a nice change. I think everyone just kind of glows in white. Obviously not all year, because anything every day is boring. But during these two weeks, it’s nice.”
Marion Bartoli announces she is retiring from tennis just 40 days after winning her only Grand Slam title.
The 28-year-old Wimbledon champion, ranked seventh in the world, said she was taking the decision with immediate effect because of persistent injuries.
Marion Bartoli made the tearful announcement at a media conference following defeat by Simona Halep at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.
“It’s time for me to retire and to call it a career,” she told reporters.
“I feel it’s time for me to walk away.”
Marion Bartoli, who beat Germany’s Sabine Lisicki in the Wimbledon final in July, said her Achilles, shoulder, hip and lower back hurt continually when she plays.
She added: “It’s never easy… but that was actually the last match of my career. I just can’t do it anymore.”
After her 6-1 6-4 win at Wimbledon, Marion Bartoli hinted that the physical demands of the sport were taking their toll.
Marion Bartoli announces she is retiring from tennis just 40 days after winning her only Grand Slam title
“That was probably the last little bit of something that was left inside me,” she said on Wednesday.
The 2007 Wimbledon runner-up had won her first Grand Slam at the 47th attempt – the longest wait in women’s tennis before a maiden Grand Slam.
Marion Bartoli had returned from her Wimbledon triumph to play in Toronto last week and was playing her first match in Cincinnati having received a first-round bye.
However, the 3-6 6-4 6-1 loss to Simona Halep appears to have been the last straw.
“It’s been a tough decision to take,” she added.
“I’ve been a tennis player for a long time and I had the chance to make my biggest dream a reality.
“You know, everyone will remember my Wimbledon title. No-one will remember the last match I played here.
“I made my dream a reality and it will stay forever with me, but now my body just can’t cope with everything.”
WTA chairman and chief executive Stacey Allaster paid tribute to Marion Bartoli’s “long, successful career”.
“She is an inspirational champion and a great ambassador for women’s tennis who has dedicated her life to the sport and given so much back to the game,” she said.
“I am so proud of her for who she is, her values and for fighting to realize her dream of winning Wimbledon.”
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