Tennis news - Simona Halep made to work before beating Goerges to reach Qatar Open semi-finals
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ByEurosport
Updated 14/02/2019 at 22:09 GMT
Top seed Simona Halep was given a stern test before battling past Julia Goerges in a little over two hours to reach the semi-finals of the Qatar Open.
Simona Halep of Romania reacts after winning her WTA Qatar Open quarter-final tennis match.
Image credit: Eurosport
Halep had eased to victory over Lesia Tsurenko in her first match under the guidance of new coach Thierry Van Cleemput and the Romanian raced into a 4-0 lead over Goerges.
Goerges, though, roared back before losing on a tie-break and the German was up a break in the second but Halep came back to clinch a 7-6 (1) 7-6 (6) win.
Up next for the world number three is Elina Svitolina, who swept past Czech qualifier Karolina Muchova 6-4 6-2.
Fourth seed Svitolina has won four of her six previous meetings against Halep, including the last three all in straight sets, yet she is not underestimating her opponent.
“I’m expecting a tough match, definitely,” the Ukrainian told the WTA Tour website. “I’m just going to try to bring the best.”
Third seed Angelique Kerber battled back from a set down to oust Barbora Strycova.
The German won just one game in the first set but rallied thereafter to take her quarter-final against the Czech to a decider before eventually prevailing 1-6 6-2 7-6 (4).
Kerber will take on unseeded Belgian Elise Mertens, who upset Dutch fifth seed Kiki Bertens 6-4 6-3.
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