Simona Halep thwarts Serena Williams’ bid for history with Wimbledon final triumph
‘Near-perfect’ Simona Halep demolishes Serena Williams to win her maiden Wimbledon title.
An inspired Simona Halep has demolished American legend Serena Williams with a near-perfect performance to claim a maiden Wimbledon title.
The 27-year-old defeated Williams, who was seeking to join Margaret Court as a 24-time major champion, 6-2 6-2 with a truly sublime performance.
Her quality of shotmaking and her remarkable court coverage left the US superstar reeling, with Williams rendered helpless when knocked completely off her game.
A Roland Garros champion last year, Halep had not particularly enjoyed playing on grass until this year. But when she adapted to the surface, her form was spectacular.
The moment @Simona_Halep became Romania's first ever #Wimbledon singles champion 🇷🇴 pic.twitter.com/bny53dP8AL
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 13, 2019
She dropped just four games against Victoria Azarenka and Elina Svitolina in her other centre court appearances this week and claimed the most famous scalp of all with similar dominance.
Asked whether she had ever played a better match, Halep responded; “Never.”
“It was the best match,” she said.
“I have worked so hard for this moment. I was nervous. My stomach was not very well before the match but I knew there was no time for emotions.
“I have worked a lot to change a little bit my game to win matches on grass. I started to feel this year the game, the ball, when it comes to me, I know want to do with it. It was an amazing year … and I can’t wait to come back here.”
"Have you ever played a better match than that?"
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 13, 2019
"Never!"@Simona_Halep speaks as a #Wimbledon champion for the first time... pic.twitter.com/0VRfeD628L
Williams, who had won nine of her ten prior outings against the Romanian, performed superbly to reach the final. But she was well beaten and departs London runner-up for the second year in succession.
And she conceded there really was little she could do against a rival in such remarkable form.
“She literally played out of her mind,” Williams said.
“Whenever a player plays that amazing, you have to take your hat off and give them a nod of the head for all that hard work.”
"She literally played out of her mind. Whenever a player plays that amazing you just have to take your hat off"@serenawilliams, sporting in defeat ðŸ‘#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/vvCcQ25M7n
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 13, 2019
Australian Darren Cahill, who took Halep to the world’s top ranking and French Open championship before stepping away to spend more time in Adelaide, was courtside this morning for her warm-up. And Halep delivered special praise to him in her acceptance speech for helping her become a more complete player in technique and also temperament.
“(He is) a very special person,” she said.
“I have no words to thank you but because of you, I have become a better person on court, so thank you very much.”
Halep, whose mother told her as a child that a Wimbledon title was what truly defined a champion, started particularly well when breaking the Williams serve immediately.
The American great was particularly errant off the ground early, making several unforced errors in succession.
The weight of history may have played on her mind but credit really should go to Halep, who had every right to be nervous as well given the enormity of the occasion for her. When she able to hold to love to lead 2-0, it was an indication this would not be a problem.
Her court coverage and defence was ably demonstrated by a stunning point in the third game where she was able to zoom from one side to the other before crunching a backhand winner running at full speed.
And when she whipped a backhand return winner on the Williams serve, she led 3-0.
Against Svitolina in a semi-final, the first four games took 28 minutes to complete. In the decider, she had the opening set in the bag a couple of minutes quicker.
Her start was just remarkable, with Halep claiming all four opening games within 11 minutes in the final.
A jet-lagged Williams once called for an espresso at the Hopman Cup to sharpen up. There was no caffeine kick nor assistance available in this match, though.
It took 13 minutes for her to get on the board in the final and there was a sense she was truly awakened when she clubbed successive forehand return winners in the following game to bring up a break point.
But the 2018 French Open champion responded brilliantly, eventually thumping a forehand winner cross court to move to a 5-1 lead.
And Halep’s defence again came to the fore when serving for the first set. Twice Williams clubbed forehands that would have been winners against most women, but Halep was able to reach them and angle defensive backhands into awkward positions that drew Williams into error.
It was a near flawless opening, with the world No 7 making just two unforced errors for the set. And Williams could only applaud the quality of some of the winners Halep struck on the run.
If there was a potential positive for the American, it was that she had served out her final two service games in the set to love. And she looked to have a handle on the Halep second serve.
She was able to edge ahead to start the second set with a tough hold on serve.
But Halep’s phenomenal court speed and consistency enabled her the opportunity to make the first move in the second set at 2-all. When she was not running down the thunderous forehands and backhands of Williams, her sheer speed played on the American’s mind.
Mindful Halep was running down most shots, despite the ferocity with which they were struck, the American often went for too much, to her detriment.
Halep also managed to defuse the Williams serve, which is arguably the greatest shot in women’s tennis.
It was notable that she regularly shifted position when returning and the adjustments seemed to throw the American.
Not until 2-4, 0-30 in the second set did the seven-time major champion manage to ace her rival and, starved of free points, Williams became increasingly bereft of confidence.
Even given the indisputable brilliance of Halep, the amount of errors the superstar made in general play was staggering.
When Halep crunched a backhand winner down the line to clinch a second break of serve, she was with one game of a stunning success.
And the 27-year-old closed out the final in the same manner she had dominated it. To love.
It was a performance as close to perfection in a final as one could imagine.
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