No.1 seed Simona Halep overcame windy conditions to blow past Petra Martic in three arduous, tightly-contested sets in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3, progressing into her third Indian Wells semi-final in two hours and 23 minutes, wtatennis.com informs.
“[The wind was] a bit too much,” Halep smiled wryly afterwards. “Everything I had today frustration way, it was because of the wind.”
An opening set that wasn’t quite as tight as the scoreline would suggest was decided by just one break. That arrived in the very first game of the match when Halep, having been offered a break point thanks to a Martic double fault, seized the opportunity with relish, pounding away a short ball for a forehand winner.
That shot would be the World No.1’s money shot over the course of the match, accounting for ten of her 12 winners in the first set. Halep would also put on a masterclass of efficient serving in this set, landing 78% of her first deliveries – a statistic which enabled the 26-year-old to construct points on her own terms, steering the ball from corner to line before finding the open space.
Halep would lose just six points on serve – half of which were conceded as she served out the set, delayed until her third set point by consecutive moments of brilliance on the forehand and dropshot from Martic. It would be a level she maintained throughout the match, eventually emerging with an impressive 80% first serve percentage.
The Romanian would also gain applause for a moment of sportsmanship in the third game, conceding a replay on a point originally awarded to her on an overrule.
As the wind rose in the second set, it was the 2015 Indian Wells champion who seemed most disrupted by it. Leaking errors from the baseline as the ball flew hither and thither, a wide backhand put Halep down a break for 0-2 – and this time, it was Martic who seized her chance, speeding out to a 5-2 lead. Playing her first ever Indian Wells quarterfinal, the 27-year-old found that an effective way to deal with both the conditions and her opponent’s stubborn defence was to cut both off with neat volleys – or to just slam through them with her forehand, now finding its range.
On the brink of closing out the set, though, Martic stumbled, shedding errors off both wings – and now, it was Halep smartly using the weather to her advantage. On the way to breaking back for 4-5, the Australian Open finalist cunningly let the wind carry a dropshot over the net and out of Martic’s reach; and, raising her level, a scorching backhand winner down the line from outside the tramlines sent the set into a tiebreak.
Therein, the first Croatian quarterfinalist in Indian Wells since Iva Majoli in 1994 once again carved out a lead – but again, was pegged back from 5-2 to 5-5 thanks to a series of errors. But at this crucial moment, it was the Halep forehand that wobbled – and two mistakes off that wing later, Martic had captured her first set from a Top 3 player on her seventh attempt.
The final set was a tale of extended, gruelling tussles and a dramatic plethora of break points. Martic would face at least one in all four of her service games. To begin with, she raised her level superbly to fend them off, conjuring up another spectacular dropshot and some rocket forehands to come through four deuces to hold for 1-1 – before drawing first blood as a frustrated Halep continued to miss the mark off the ground.
As the wind continued to swirl, both players struggled to control their games. Shanked returns crept into Martic’s performance, and four more unforced errors (of the 43 she would notch up in total) in the sixth game allowed Halep to even the score.
“I just… tried everything,” recalled the Romanian to the press. “I tried also to push a little bit the ball and then to hit it, so to change, to mix.”
As for the key difference to her win, she admitted that she had calmed down in the nick of time. “I just was more focused on what I have to do, not about the wind, not thinking that much about the wind and what is going on on court,” said Halep. “It was good that after 3-1 I just woke up, and I realized that I’m not doing the right thing on court. And it was really good that I can see that and change that, so that makes a big change.”
The only remaining previous champion in the draw, Halep will face 20-year-old Naomi Osaka for a place in her second Indian Wells final.
On Tuesday, Halep defeated 7-5, 6-1 unseeded Wang Qiang.
Niculescu/Hlavackova – defeated by Babos/Mladenovici
The pair made up by Romanian tennis player Monica Niculescu and Andrea Sestini Hlavackova (Czech Republic) was defeated on Tuesday evening by Timea Babos (Hungary)/ Kristina Mladenovici (France) 6-4, 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells tournament.
Niculescu/Hlavackova led only once, 2-1 in the first set.
It was their first collaboration and will receive a cheque of USD 54,760 and 215 points.
Tecau/Rojer defeated by Spanish pair
The pair made up by Romanian tennis player Horia Tecau and Jean Julien Rojer (Netherlands) was defeated Monday evening by the Spanish pair Feliciano Lopez/ Marc Lopez 6-4, 7-6 (5), in the round of sixteen at Indian Wells. The match lasted one hiour and 40 minutes.