Top Seeds Halep, Pliskova To Play Rome Final

Muhammad Irfan Published September 21, 2020 | 12:40 AM

Rome, Sept 20 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Sep, 2020 ) :Top seed Simona Halep set up a final showdown with defending champion Karolina Pliskova on Sunday as the Romanian bids for her first Italian Open title on her third attempt.

World number two Halep ousted Garbine Muguruza 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to close on a trophy she narrowly missed out on as runner-up in 2017 and 2018.

Second seed Pliskova eased past fellow Czech Marketa Vondrousova 6-2, 6-4 in the clay-court tune-up before the French Open.

"Thank God I don't play (Elina) Svitolina, because I lost two times against her," joked Halep of the Ukrainian she twice fell to in the final.

"It's a good chance tomorrow (Monday). It's a big challenge. I really want to win this title, but it's always tough." After pulling level at one set each, Spanish ninth seed Muguruza slumped to 5-1 down in the third, before pulling out a string of winners to draw to within a game of Halep.

Serving to stay in the match, though, she hit successive double faults to hand Halep victory, in the match between two former French Open winners.

Wimbledon champion Halep extended her winning streak this season to 13 consecutive victories, as she targets a 22nd career title.

She won the Dubai title in February, before the coronavirus lockdown, coming back to claim victory in Prague last month having skipped the US Open.

Pliskova eased past last year's French Open runner-up Vondrousova, the former world one number finding her feet on clay after her disappointing second round exit in the US Open where she was the top seed.

"It will be a tough battle," said Halep who leads Pliskova 7-5 in previous meetings, with the pair splitting their two matches on clay.

"I know how to play against her because we played so many times.

"But here, she won last year, so she likes the court.

"But I like also the court. So we will see. I am confident that I have my chance."For Muguruza it was a fourth semi-final defeat in Rome, ahead of her challenge to recapture the French Open she won in 2016.

"I had a lot of positives to take from this week, especially coming to a Grand Slam," she said.