Romania’s Simona Halep reaches semifinals in Madrid, her best performance this year

Romanian tennis star Simona Halep, currently number 7 in the WTA ranking, reached the semifinal stage of the Mutua Madrid Open, one of the most important international tennis tournaments, after a three-set victory against compatriot Irina Begu. Halep, who was fresher going into the game, defeated Begu despite losing the second set 0-6. The all-Romanian quarter final match ended 6-3, 0-6, 6-1 for Halep. The Romanian has a good shot at winning her first tournament after more than a year, as all the other top seeds in the women’s competition have been eliminated from the tournament. Halep hasn’t won any tournament since March 2015, when she triumphed at Indian Wells. She also played two finals, in Toronto and Cincinnati last fall. She also played a final in Madrid in 2014, which she lost to Russia’s Maria Sharapova. Halep may play against another Romanian in her way to the final, if 21-year old Patricia Tig manages to beat former US Open winner Samantha Stosur (Australia) in the last match of the day. Romanian Sorana Cirstea, is also fighting for a place in the semifinals. She was set to play against Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova. editor@romania-insider.com (Photo source: Mutua Madrid Open on Facebook)