Simona Halep beats Elise Mertens to win Prague title

World number two Halep, playing her first event since winning in Dubai in February, shortly before the coronavirus pandemic forced tennis to shutdown, won 6-2 7-5.

Top seed Simona Halep claimed her second successive title, albeit six months apart, as she comfortably beat Elise Mertens to win the Prague Open on Sunday. The Romanian world number two, playing her first event since winning in Dubai in February, shortly before the coronavirus pandemic forced tennis to shutdown, won 6-2 7-5.

“Title #21! Soo happy I could come here, fight hard and lift the trophy,” Halep wrote.(Image Courtesy: Simona Halep Twitter)

Halep had struggled to shake off the rust throughout the week and came close to a first-round defeat by Polona Hercog before struggling past Barbora Krejcikova and compatriot Irina-Camelia Begu, but she was in the groove against Mertens.

Victory in one hour 33 minutes over Belgian Mertens earned her a 21st career WTA trophy -- the fifth-highest tally of active players behind only Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters and Petra Kvitova.

Mertens blazed into a 2-0 lead with a flurry of winners, but Halep responded by reeling off seven successive games to take control. Halep did not have things all her own way though and was broken back early in the second set as Mertens again went on the attack. A wobbly service game allowed Halep to move a break ahead again in the fifth game, although Mertens retaliated again to level the second set at 4-4. Halep broke to lead 6-5 though and finished it off with a heavy forehand.

“Second set I was 4-2 up but dead and felt very tired,” she said. “But today, mentally I was really strong which allowed me to win in two sets.”

With world number one Ash Barty and 2019 U.S. Open champion Rafael Nadal, as well as a host of other top players, already deciding against playing at Flushing Meadows, organisers will be hoping Halep says yes.

Halep has appeared reluctant to make the trip to the U.S., which is still in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, but said this week she needed to see what “changes” the organisers would make in terms of “travelling and stuff”.

Halep said she will announce on Monday whether she will play at the US Open. Speaking after her victory, the 28-year-old Romanian said “she just needed her time” to make a decision. “We felt really safe here and all the rules were respected,” she told reporters. “It’s a bit stressful but the fact that everyone was good these 10 days means everything was done well.”