Halep wins maiden WTA title in Nuremberg

Romania’s Simona Halep claimed her first WTA title with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Andrea Petkovic in the Nuremberg claycourt final on Saturday.

The world number 58, seeded seven in Nuremberg, deployed her strong long ball game to see off the German in one hour 24 minutes.

The Constanza-born Halep, a semi-finalist in Rome already this season, only dropped one set en route to her maiden title.

Petkovic, a former top 10 player whose ranking has sunk to 109, was competing in her first final since 2011 after a series of injuries.