Athlete of the Week on RRI – Simona Halep

For her achievements, we have designated Simona Halep Athlete of the Week on RRI.

România Internațional, 16.07.2014, 12:46

Last week Bucharest played host to the first WTA tournament ever held in Romania, BRD Bucharest Open, totaling 250,000 dollars in prize money. WTA 3rd ranked Simona Halep won the final against second seed Roberta Vinci of Italy, 6-1, 6-3. In the semi-finals, Simona had brushed aside another Romanian, Monica Niculescu, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.

For her achievement, we have designated Simona Halep Athlete of the Week on Radio Romania International. A week ago she was the recipient of this award for qualifying to the semi-finals of the WTA tournament in Wimbledon, a performance unmatched by any other player from Romania.

At BRD Bucharest Open, Simona knocked out Indy De Vroome in the first round, 6-nil, 6-4. In the second round Simona brushed aside Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia, 6-2, 6-4. In the quarterfinals she took on Lara Arruabarrena of Spain, whom she defeated 6-3, 6-1. The only set she lost in the tournament was against Monica Niculescu of Romania, who told Radio Romania about Simona’s strengths:

“She’s showing a great display of tennis on court. She has a powerful forehand, and her backhand is also quite impressive. Her service is good, so why shouldn’t she be number 1? She’s playing very well, she is strong-willed. She played the Roland Garros final. I have played in the semi-finals here, and I am already feeling more confident. You can imagine where Simona’s confidence level is after the Roland Garros final and the Wimbledon semi-final”.

Let us also note that Simona Halep was born on September 27, 1991 in Constanta. She made her debut in professional tennis in 2006, when she played her first matches in the ITF circuit. In 2010 she made it to the world’s Top 100. Her rise in the standings was swift in 2013, when she reported 53 wins and 17 losses, won six WTA tournaments, in Nurnberg, s’Hertogenbosch, Budapest, New Haven, Moscow and Sofia, and grabbed winnings worth 1.2 million dollars. She is currently ranked 3rd in the WTA standings.