Cincinnati: Simona Halep defeated by Serena Williams in the final, withdraws from New Haven

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has lost on Sunday night to the world’s No. 1 Serena Williams, in the USD 2,400,000 tournament in Cincinnati. The American tennis player won 6-3, 7-6 (5) in one hour and 38 minutes.
The final was balanced; the difference between the first two female tennis players in the world was given by the superior force of Serena Williams and by her significantly greater experience at this level, proven by her 69th trophy. Williams was actually the title-holder in Cincinnati, whilst Simona Halep – still a newcomer with less than two years among the world’s best – has won 11 tournaments.
The match on Sunday was practically decided in the first set, dominated by Williams in particular due to her service; the handicap of the score has weighed much in the second set, when the two players have competed from peer to peer, with the balance finally cut in a tie-break.
Anyway, this was the second consecutive final for Halep since her return to the competition after the Wimbledon failure. She got 585 points and a USD 240,500 cheque for her presence in the last act in Cincinnati, which allowed her the comeback on the 2nd place in the WTA ranking as of Monday.
Williams, who is targeting this year the victory at US Open in order to make the Grand Slam, secured 900 WTA points and 495,000 dollars in prize money.
In another development, Simona Halep, No. 2 WTA as of Monday, has withdrawn from the USD 689,063 WTA tournament in New Haven (Connecticut), which started on Sunday and where she was the main favourite, the organizers announced.