Young Simona Halep upstages Sam Stosur to win Kremlin Cup

Romania’s Simona Halep continued her Indian summer as she beat former US Open champion Samantha Stosur 7-6 (1), 6-2 in an hour and 51 minutes to win the Kremlin Cup Sunday.

This is Halep’s fifth WTA tournament win of the year- a season that has witnessed her ranking rise to number eighteen in the world.

The first set was a tight affair as both players matched each other stroke for stroke before Halep took the upper hand in the tiebreaker. She won the tiebreaker with ease, dropping just one point enroute to her first set win.

Halep took the momentum into the second set as she shrugged past her more experienced opponent to cap off a memorable weekend.

“It’s an incredible year for me and I am enjoying every moment of it,” said Halep, who is expected to breach the top 15 after her latest win. “Now I already have all of my thoughts about the Tournament of Champions in Sofia.”

2013 has been an extraordinary year for the 22-year-old player from Constanta, Romania. Apart from the Kremlin Cup scalp, she has won in Nurnberg, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Budapest and New Haven, where she beat former Wimbledon winner Petr Kvitova.