Simona Halep staged an impressive recovery after losing the first set against Jessica Pegula, and the Romanian discussed how she managed it afterward.
The semifinal with Pegula was her fourth since Patrick Mouratoglou became her coach a few months ago. Her partnership with the Frenchman got off to a slow start, but results soon picked up.
Halep's other three semifinals all came during the grass-court season. This included a run to that stage at Wimbledon, a Grand Slam the 30-year-old won in 2019 by beating Serena Williams in the final.
The Romanian lost all three grass-court semifinals. Her dream of winning a second Wimbledon crown was ended in straight sets by Elena Rybakina, who went on to win the title at SW19.
Halep's hopes of breaking that streak looked bleak when Pegula easily won the first set of their Canadian Open clash. The American was in total control of the match, and a Halep fightback seemed unlikely.
However, the two-time Grand Slam champion showed her champion's mentality to somehow claw her way back in Toronto, eventually prevailing 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 after a brutal battle in the final two sets.
Halep said she changed the tactics by making the rallies less fast, biding her time more, and extending the rallies more. That allowed her to push Pegula back and not let the American dictate with flat baseline hitting.
"I changed a little bit the tactics. In the first set, it was a little bit too fast. She was hitting super strong and I didn't feel the rhythm. Then I just calmed down and I tried to just push her back a little bit more."
The former French Open winner will face Beatriz Haddad Maia for the title. Halep starts the match as the favorite, but Haddad Maia is playing the best tennis of her career and presents a stiff challenge.
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