While much of the pre-match focus was on Serena Williams and her quest for her 24th Grand Slam singles title, Simona Halep stole the spotlight with a nearly flawless performance in the Wimbledon final.
Making just three unforced errors in the match—the fewest since records were kept in 1998—Halep won Saturday’s first four games en route to a 6-2, 6-2 victory. In her on-court interview after receiving the ladies’ singles trophy, she said she “never” played a better match in her career.
Halep's title run also included straight-sets victories over Victoria Azarenka (Round 3), Cori "Coco" Gauff (Round 4) and Elina Svitolina (semifinals). She dropped just one set on the fortnight, to countrywoman Mihaela Buzarnescu in the second round.
Here’s more on the first Romanian (man or woman) to win a Wimbledon singles title.
The Simona Halep File
Age: 27
Birthplace: Constanta, Romania
Current Rank: 4
Career-High Rank: 1 (Oct. 2017)
Best US Open Finish: Semifinals (2015)
The Baseline:
- With her Wimbledon victory, Halep has now won two Slams (including Roland Garros in 2018) and reached one other major final (2018 Australian Open) in the last 19 months. A US Open semifinalist in 2015 and a quarterfinalist in 2016, Halep was a first-round upset victim in each of her last two trips to New York.
- Halep was 1-9 against Williams entering the Wimbledon final, with her lone victory coming at the 2014 WTA Championships.
- Growing up in Romania, Halep never played on a grass court until she competed in Wimbledon qualifying in 2010. Though she reached the quarterfinal stage or better three times at the All England Club (2014, 2016, 2017), the Romanian admitted she never felt truly comfortable on the grass until midway through this year’s event.
- Halep has had two stints as world No. 1, for a combined total of 64 weeks. She first earned that title in October 2017 on the heels of a French Open final run and a last-eight appearance at Wimbledon. She then ceded her position to Caroline Wozniacki after the Dane defeated her in three sets at the 2018 Aussie Open final. But Halep regained the top spot four weeks later, remaining there for 48 weeks until Naomi Osaka took over via her 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open titles. A two-time year-end No. 1 (2017, 2018), Halep’s 64 weeks at the summit are the 10th most since the WTA introduced computerized rankings in 1975.
- Coached by Daniel Dobre since the start of 2019, Halep previously worked with Darren Cahill from 2015-2018, until the Australian stepped down in order to spend more time with his family. Halep still considers her former coach, who was part of the ESPN commentary crew at Wimbledon, a part of her team.
They Said It!
“I’m very sure that was the best match of my life. Also on grass against [Serena] is never easy. So I’m really proud of my game today and the whole tournament.” – Halep to the press after her Wimbledon final victory.
