Simona Halep claimed the biggest title of her career on Sunday, lifting the WTA Indian Wells trophy with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory over former champion Jelena Jankovic.
The hard-fought triumph over the former world No 1 from Serbia made Romania’s 23-year-old Halep the first player to win three WTA titles this year.
Halep, ranked third in the world, won four of the final five games in the third set to earn the marathon victory in 2hrs 37mins.
“I don’t know how I won today because I didn’t play my best,” Halep said. “But I just wanted to fight till the end. Every match was very important for me, for my mind.
“I just had the confidence that I had a chance here in this tournament, and I just did everything to get it.
“I’m really happy that I have another title.”
Halep and Jankovic have a history of playing long, tight matches and Sunday was no different.
They have now gone to three sets in all five career meetings with Halep leading the series 4-1.
Jankovic, who served for the match at 5-4 in the second set but couldn’t close it out, was gracious in defeat.
“My opponent Simona was unbelievable,” said Jankovic, who turned 30 last month. “She was running like two dogs, left and right for about three hours and at the end I just couldn’t keep up anymore.
“She is the younger one and she was too good at the end.”
Halep advanced to the semi-final on a walkover after Serena Williams cut short her long-awaited Indian Wells return because of a knee injury.
Halep has shot up the world rankings in the past few years, going from 64 in May 2013 to her current No 3.
She started the 2015 season with her ninth career title by winning the Shenzhen, China tournament. She followed that with a victory in Dubai and also reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open in January.
She got off to a blistering start to the season, winning nine straight matches and 18 consecutive sets.
Halep broke Jankovic for the ninth and last time in the final game of Sunday’s contest as she clinched the premier level title with cross-court forehand winner that Jankovic had no chance on.
Both players had difficulty holding their serves throughout as there were a total of 18 breaks.
“I was a little nervous during the match but I knew I could keep it in my hands. I did really, really great today,” Halep said.
Jankovic looked dominant in winning the final five games to take the first set but then her serve let her down in the second and third as she won just 12 points in total on her second serve.
By the middle of the third set, Jankovic appeared to have completely lost her focus and was still thinking about blown chances in the second set.
During one changeover she told her coach, “I haven’t been able to hold my serve. Not one. Where’s my serve? What’s going on?
“That’s why I lost that second set.”
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Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m; Winner: Gurm, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Al Nafece, Al Muatasm Al Balushi, Mohammed Ramadan
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Ashton Tourettes, Adrie de Vries, Ibrahim Aseel
6.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Ottoman, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Liwa Oasis – Group 2 (PA) 300,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Hakeemat Muscat, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Ganbaru, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
The specs: 2018 Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic HSE
Price, base / as tested: Dh263,235 / Dh420,000
Engine: 3.0-litre supercharged V6
Power 375hp @ 6,500rpm
Torque: 450Nm @ 3,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.4L / 100kms
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
