Simona Halep celebrates winning her match against Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit (Source: Reuters)
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Simona Halep needed just 53 minutes to thrash Estonian Anett Kontaveit 6-1 6-1 to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Wednesday, a whirlwind victory that gives the fourth seed more time to go “shopping”.
The two-times Grand Slam champion had not lost a set in her previous two meetings with Kontaveit and the quarter-final was no different, the 28th seed managing just one breakpoint on former world number one Halep’s serve.
The Romanian, runner-up at Melbourne Park in 2018, will meet either Spaniard Garbine Muguruza or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia for a place in Saturday’s final.
Halep said she would not watch the quarter-final clash that followed her match at the Rod Laver Arena and would instead relax and “enjoy the day”.
“I will chill, I will just do some shopping like every day because it motivates me,” the 28-year-old said. “Tomorrow I will think about the match, today nothing about tennis.”
When Simona plays her best she is unstoppable. We have seen her do it on her way to winning RG and Wimbledon, and today again. Simona Halep defeats Anett Kontaveit 6-1, 6-1 to reach the SF. She will face either Muguruza or Pavlyuchenkova next.#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/Huc9alLIHV
— Romanian Tennis (@WTARomania) January 29, 2020
After both players held serve to start the match, Halep simply took control, winning the next 10 games to take the first set and surge to a 5-0 lead in the second.
Kontaveit, playing in her first Grand Slam quarter-final, could do nothing to stop the Romanian but received a huge round of applause from the crowd when she held serve to make it 5-1.
It was merely a consolation, however, as Halep then converted her second match point with her fifth ace.
Halep, who was yet to lose a set in the tournament, said she was delighted with her game.
“It’s a pleasure to play here in Australia and I’m really happy that I can play my best tennis and go into the semi-finals,” she added.
“I felt great today on court. I feel my game, I feel strong on my legs. I knew how to play against her. I was just focused on every point I played.”
Halep thanked her Australian coach Darren Cahill for making her a better player and said a strong off-season was the reason for her good form.
“I worked a little bit more in the off-season. First time in my life I did the off-season away from home so I could be focused on what I have to do every day, no days off,” she said.
“Meant a lot for me and this year I started very well. I am feeling much stronger than before.”
Muguruza marches into Australian Open semi-finals
Garbine Muguruza stormed back into the Grand Slam big time with an emphatic 7-5 6-3 win over Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach her first Australian Open semi-final on Wednesday.
The twice Grand Slam champion will meet former finalist Simona Halep on Thursday for a place in the title match after another confidence-building performance at Melbourne Park on a sunbathed Rod Laver Arena.
Unseeded at a Grand Slam for the first time since 2014, Muguruza made few pundits’ lists of pre-tournament contenders and her campaign was almost scuppered by a viral illness.
But the hard-hitting Spaniard now finds herself well-placed to make off with a third major title following her triumphs at Wimbledon in 2017 and Roland Garros the year before.
“I came (here) not feeling great. I wasn’t really thinking, ‘How far will I go?’” the Venezuela-born 26-year-old told reporters.
“I had enough already thinking, ‘How will I go practise today?’
“I took (one) day at a time … Each day I was gaining a better feeling – instead of getting frustrated thinking (about) the future.”
Since making the 2018 French Open semi-finals, her last trip to the final four of a Grand Slam, Muguruza spent much of the following 18 months in a funk.
See you in the semis 👋@GarbiMuguruza
books a date with Halep in a first #AusOpen final four as she upends Pavlyuchenkova 7-5 6-3.#AO2020 pic.twitter.com/L5F3y5GKC8— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2020
She split with her longtime coach Sam Sumyk last July after a first round exit at Wimbledon.
“I think the toughest moment is when you work hard, work like before, or even harder, and you don’t feel like results are coming fast,” she said of the career lull.
“So I think that’s the tricky part for us. Athletes sometimes can get a little bit desperate, get too impatient about it.
“It’s very tough to be for so many years in the top of the game, being that consistent … Barely (any) players can hold that for many, many years in a row.”
Her revival follows an off-season climb to the summit of Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, and a reunion with former mentor and Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, who guided Karolina Pliskova to four titles last season.
The Martinez collaboration was a key part of Muguruza’s run to the Wimbledon title and it has produced instant success since resuming in the offseason.
Muguruza said Kilimanjaro was a “life-changing experience” but was cagey about what happened to her on the mountain.
“I’m in a tournament, at this stage, it’s not the right moment,” she said. “I will definitely share … my experience. I think it’s fun to hear.”
She was not holding back against 30th seed Pavlyuchenkova, bringing the full force of her trademark aggression to bear against the seasoned Russian in the second set.
Pavlyuchenkova, a quarter-finalist at all four Grand Slams, hastened her exit with eight double-faults, including one on break point which gifted Muguruza a 4-2 lead in the second set.
Muguruza closed out the match with a barrage of winners to set up an intriguing clash of styles with Wimbledon winner Halep, an all-court scrapper with a seemingly limitless tolerance for physical punishment.
Top seed Ash Barty will meet American Sofia Kenin in the other women’s semi-final on Thursday.
“I think it’s a tough match (against Halep),” said Muguruza, who holds a 3-2 winning record over the Romanian third seed.
“Excited to play another battle against her.”
