By Daily Sports on February 16, 2019

Simona Halep won five games in a row in the final set to beat Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals of the Qatar Open.

World number three Halep beat Ukrainian Svitolina 6-3 3-6 6-4 and will face Elise Mertens in the final on Saturday.

Svitolina had three chances to go 5-1 up in the third set but Halep managed to turn the match around.

“I didn’t give up today and I promised myself I would never give up against her again,” said top seed Halep.

Halep had lost four of their five encounters since 2014 and after her quarter-final win over Julia Goerges admitted “giving up” in some of those matches.

“She’s a very good fighter and it’s probably the best match of the tournament so far. I was strong in my legs and I was definitely not tired,” added Halep.

“It means a lot to me to win here and the crowd were pretty awesome.”

Belgium’s Mertens beat third seed Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-4 2-6 6-1.

Saturday’s match will be Halep’s 34th career final, with the Romanian triumphing in Qatar in 2014 when she beat Kerber 6-2 6-3. (BBC)

•Photo shows Simona Halep

Source Daily Sports

Posted February 16, 2019

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