ROMANIAN Simona Halep has won her second tournament for the year, defeating Elise Mertens in straight sets at the Prague Open. It is Halep’s 21st career WTA singles title, winning six consecutive games in the first set to come away with the 6-2 7-5 victory. 

Halep was clinical from the get go, taking control in the first set and relentless with her strong first serve to gain an initial advantage and build off it throughout the set. Winning 72.2 per cent of her first serve points, Halep nullified Mertens and made quick use of her early on with a high powered serve keeping the Belgian on the back foot, seeing Mertens win just five points off Halep’s first serve.

It was really only Mertens’ mounting errors that allowed Halep to maintain control and take the second set in what was a mostly even affair, with five double faults showcasing Halep’s ability to keep Mertens on her toes and limit her impact off her own service games. While Halep was staying one step ahead in the second, Mertens would not give up and pulled back from a 4-2 deficit to draw even before Halep fought through the fatigue for a break at 6-5 and an impeccable forehand to finish. With the scores staying even for the most part, as did the stats, Halep’s ability to convert and maintain control through both her service and return games was critical, running away with the straight sets win in just over 90 minutes. 

On the road to victory, Halep had a tougher time than many expected from the world number two, overcoming Polona Hercog and Barbora Krejcikova in hefty three-set battles, before an easier quarter final against Magdalena Frech and straight sets victory over compatriot, Irina-Camelia Begu in the semi final set up her back-to-back titles following her win in Dubai back in February.

Prior to this match, Halep had won three of their four meetings, with her experience and ranking continuing to pay off. While Halep cut Mertens in her tracks at Melbourne Park earlier this year for their most recent encounter – a heated 6-4 6-4 battle in the Australian Open Round of 16 – Mertens’ only victory saw her reign supreme at the 2019 Doha final, as the Belgian collected her fifth major singles title.

Halep is set to confirm whether she makes an appearance at the US Open in the coming days, while Mertens is a confirmed name at the Western and Southern Open in New York, a precursor to the grand slam, where Karolina Pliskova will head in as top seed.