Simona Halep defeats Elise Mertens to win Prague Open

World number 2 and top seed at the Prague Open, Simona Halep, has claimed her second successive title as she comfortably eased past Elise Mertens in straight sets on Sunday.

The two-time Grand Slam winner had struggled to shake off the rust throughout the week, and almost got eliminated in the first-round by Polona Hercog before struggling past Barbora Krejcikova and compatriot Irina-Camelia Begu. However, she was in an entirely different class against Mertens in the Czech capital.

The Romanian won 6-2 7-5 against Mertens, playing her first event since winning in Dubai in February, shortly before the coronavirus pandemic forced tennis to shutdown.

Mertens showed great intent and grabbed a 2-0 lead with a flurry of winners, but Halep responded swiftly to take control by reeling off seven successive games.

It wasn’t all rosy for Halep though as she was broken back early in the second set when Mertens again went on the attack. A rickety service game allowed Halep to move a break ahead as soon as the fifth game, although Mertens responded again to level the second set at 4-4.

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Halep showed champion stuff and broke to lead 6-5 though, finishing it off with a heavy forehand in one hour 33 minutes to earn her 21st career WTA trophy.

“We felt really safe here and all the rules were respected,” she tells reporters. “It’s a bit stressful but the fact that everyone was good these 10 days means everything was done well.

“Second set I was 4-2 up but dead and felt very tired. But today, mentally I was really strong which allowed me to win in two sets.”

Halep, however, has yet to confirm whether or not she would participate in the US Open and would announce her intention later on Monday.