Simona Halep hits back to sink Angelique Kerber in quarter-finals
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ByEurosport
Updated 06/06/2018 at 15:34 GMT
Simona Halep lost the first set before battling back to complete a 6-7 6-3 6-2 win over Angelique Kerber in the French Open quarter-finals.
Romania's Simona Halep returns the ball to Taylor Townsend of the US during their women's singles second round match on day five of The Roland Garros 2018 French Open tennis tournament in Paris on May 31, 2018.
Image credit: Getty Images
The world number one will face 2016 Roland Garros champion Garbine Muguruza after the Spanish woman overwhelmed Maria Sharapova 6-2 6-1 in the day's other quarter-final.
The Romanian is chasing a first Grand Slam title having lost the final of this event a year ago to Jelena Ostapenko.
She also lost in the 2014 final to Maria Sharapova with Caroline Wozniacki denying her in the Australian Open final in January.
Halep started slowly, spraying shots wide as she lost the first four games of the match against the number 12 seed who hit her early groundstrokes with lethal accuracy.
But the Romanian clawed her way back into the contest, winning three straight games as both players struggled to hold on to their serves in a monster opening set that swung one way and then the next.
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Highlights: Halep proves too hot for Kerber
Kerber eventually prevailed in a tiebreak, but Halep came out all guns blazing in the second, firing baseline bullets at her opponent, who tried to cling on against the onslaught.
But by the third set Halep had broken down the German's defences -- and her resolve.
"It's always a tough match when I play against her. After the first set I just stayed strong and didn't give up," Halep told the court Suzanne Lenglen crowd in a post-match interview.
"I missed a lot in the beginning. I tried to do too much. I changed the tactics a bit and it worked."
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