"I just want to forget about last year, about the injury and enjoy now" - Simona Halep after reaching Melbourne Summer Set final
Simona Halep advanced to the final of the Melbourne Summer Set by defeating China's Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday.
The former World No. 1 was dominant from start to finish and had little trouble getting the better of her inexperienced opponent.
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Sooo good to feel that final feeling again! 💪😊
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After the match, Halep said she was pleased to start 2022 with a run to the final after enduring a disappointing 2021 season.
"Yea, it is a great feeling to reach the final of the first tournament of the year. I'm happy, I think I played well today, we both played really well and you know, it's nice to see that I can start this year pretty well because last year was not that easy," Halep said.
"At some shots, I felt her (Zheng) power, it's pretty strong and it was not easy to return them. Definitely, the serve helped me a little bit more today. I relaxed my arm a little bit more than yesterday, yesterday was terrible but today I played better and I'm happy about it," she added.
Halep was plagued by injuries in 2021 and dropped to 20 in the WTA rankings. When asked if she had learned any lessons from her time away from tennis, the Romanian said the long break reinforced her love for the sport.
"The lesson was that I still love tennis and I still want to be on court. So, here I am and I just want to forget about last year, about the injury and I just want to enjoy now, give my best in every match I play and work harder," Halep said.
Here is Simona Halep's on-court interview after defeating Qinwen Zheng to make the Final in Melbourne.
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Simona Halep one win away from 23rd WTA title
Simona Halep will face Veronika Kudermetova in the final of the Melbourne Summer Set. The Russian received a walkover into the final after top seed Naomi Osaka withdrew due to injury.
Halep and Kudermetova faced each other twice last year. The first meeting was in the third round of the Australian Open which the Romanian won 6-1, 6-3.
The second meeting between the two came in the second round of the Kremlin Cup which Halep won 6-1, 7-6(4).
The former World No. 1 will be the heavy favorite to win Sunday's final and clinch her 23rd WTA title.
Halep will then compete at the Sydney International before shifting her focus to the Australian Open.