Cincinnati: Simona Halep to face Serena Williams in the final, back to WTA no. 2.

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep outfoxed Jelena Jankovic in straight sets to secure a return to World No.2 and set up a blockbuster Western & Southern Open final against Serena Williams, wtatennis.com informs.
Though many of them have been close, Halep had won her last five meetings against Jankovic, and the No.3-seeded Romanian kept the pattern alive on Saturday night, cruising to a 6-1, 6-2 victory.
The Romanian ripped 22 winners to just 14 unforced errors and converted on seven of 10 break points.
“I played a good game tonight and really enjoyed myself out here, and I’m very happy I can play the finals again for the second week in a row,” she said in her on-court interview after the match. “And the crowd was amazing – so many people were here this late, which is great!”
By reaching the final, Halep, who is currently ranked No.3, will pass Maria Sharapova for the No.2 ranking on Monday, which will give her the No.2 seed for the upcoming US Open, which, in turn, will guarantee that she won’t have to play No.1 seed Williams until the final at Flushing Meadows.
It will be a return to her career-high ranking – Halep first hit World No.2 last summer.
And up next for Halep here is the No.1-seeded Williams, who battled past WTA Rising Star Elina Svitolina in a tight two-setter in the first semi-final of the day, 6-4, 6-3.
Williams leads Halep in the pair’s head-to-head series, 5-1, though their only previous meeting in 2015 was a nail-biter in the semifinals in Miami, which Williams barely won.
“She’s playing well. She was in the finals just last week and she’s going hard and going steady,” Williams said of Halep. “When she beat me in Singapore, she played me well. She came out with an incredible vengeance. Hopefully I’ll be ready for that tomorrow if she decides to do that again.”
Halep’s win over Williams in the round robin of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last October made her the first Romanian in WTA history to beat a World No.1.