Wearing thick black leggings and a long-sleeved pink jersey to combat the chilly conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier, the 2018 champion made a series of unforced errors and trailed 4-2.
Amid all the tumult of the coronavirus pandemic, Simona Halep might very well have found the perfect formula to prepare for the French Open.
Halep, who lost the 2017 and 2018 Rome finals to Elina Svitolina, extended her record in tennis’ restart to 10-0.
Muguruza struggled with her serve and double faulted on the final two points of the 2 hour, 16-minute match.
Halep, who is actually on an 11-0 run overall stretching back to February, recovered an early break in the opening set and then overpowered her 29th-ranked opponent the rest of the way.
Six of the top eight women in the WTA rankings won’t play in New York. No. 1 Ash Barty and defending champion Bianca Andreescu have also withdrawn from the tournament.
Halep broke Mertens for a 6-5 lead in the final set before converting her first match point to win her second title this year after the Dubai Championships in February.
Halep secured her second berth in a final this season with a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory over compatriot Irina-Camelia Begu on Saturday.
Halep will seek her second final of this year against either compatriot Irina-Camelia Begu or Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Halep, ranked No. 2, converted her first match point with a backhand winner to beat Frech, ranked 174.
It was the first competitive match for Halep since she won the Dubai Championships in February for her 20th career WTA title.
Simona Halep is making her comeback to Tennis with the Prague Open.
The Aug. 3-9 tournament announced Sunday that the Romanian player’s manager, Virginia Ruzici, had informed Palermo officials of the decision.
US Open will be held without fans from August 31 to September 13, making it be the second major of 2020, following the Australian Open
Simona Halep said in a video posted on Twitter on Monday that she still is not healed to the point that she can play tennis.
Apart from Simona Halep, Bianca Andreescu and Caty McNally both have donated their signed tennis racquets to benefit 'Athletes For Relief'.
No. 2-ranked Halep was 3-1 down in the third set. The Romanian broke to lead 6-5, but Rybakina's powerful hitting forced the tiebreaker.
Rybakina beat eighth-seeded Petra Martic of Croatia 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2) in the semifinals on Friday, coming from a break down and saving a set point in each set.
Top-seeded Simona Halep came from a set down for the second day in a row to beat Aryna Sabalenka 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 Thursday and reach the semifinals at the Dubai Championships.
Spain's Garbine Muguruza has set up a final clash against USA's Sofia Kenin in the Australian Open.
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