The first set featured eight breaks of serve – four apiece – before the 24-year-old Romanian took over in the tiebreak and overpowered her American opponent. “She’s a very good player”. When her first serve was in play, Keys earned 86 percent of points, racking up a total of 57 points versus 27 for Kucova.
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“She hits very strong and it’s really tough to return her balls but I knew that I have to be strong on my legs”, counter puncher Halep said of her strategy against Keys. “This is sometimes, I think, the problem”. “But in the second set I didn’t lose serve, so that made the second set easier to win”.
“I like being here in Montreal at lot”, said Halep, seeded fifth and set to jump to No. 3 in the world. The most recent match was in this year’s Wimbledon, a match Halep won in three sets.
Halep topped Kerber after losing to her in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
“I don’t think I was serving as well”, said Keys. She’s had a tough run in Montreal this week, but she’s fought her way through, found the answers and is looking very confident. As anyone knows, I can not hit stronger than her because she’s very strong and it’s impossible for my height and for my body. Congratulations to Madison for a great week and I wish you the best for the future. I got a little bit exhausted in the end.
Romania’s Simona Halep celebrates her win over Madison Keys, of the United States, during the fi … She arrived last week in time to take part in the 40th anniversary of the 1976 Montreal Olympics. “My serve just wasn’t right today”. Also I think I was starting to press a little bit. “Maybe that’s why I kept winning”.
In the breaker, it was Halep with the mental edge, showing the resolve and fortitude to go out to an early 4-1 lead. Reaching the finals here lifted her from No. 12 to No. 9.
“After the first set, I was trying to forget the first 25 or 30 minutes”, Kerber said. That was everything in my mind when I started to play’.
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This time around, Halep went one step further, taking the match on her first time of asking to seal a first Coupe Rogers title 7-6, 6-3 and a first place spot in the Emirates Airline US Open Series ahead of the final major of the season, the US Open, later this summer. Keys repeatedly ended rallies with shots into the net as Halep patiently kept the ball in play. They lost to the fourth-seeded Russian duo of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 6-3, 7-6 (5). The winners shared $142,375 while losers split $71,920.
