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Simona Halep defeated Veronika Kudermetova in the final of the Melbourne Summer Set 1 on Sunday to win the title. The Romanian, seeded second in the draw, needed an hour and 14 minutes to complete a 6-2, 6-3 win over the Russian, seeded third.
This was Halep’s 23rd WTA title and her third win – in three matches – against Kudermetova. Halep had a slow start even as Kudermetova secured an early break to dictate terms to the former world no. 1. However, Kudermetova’s dominance was brief even as Halep scripted a comeback into the set.
The second set followed similar patterns as the first and Halep was able to successfully thwart her determined opponent.
Melbourne Summer Set: Simona Halep, Amanda Anisimova win contrastingly
Following her win, her first since she won the Rome Open in 2020, Halep said, “The body is great, I feel good.
I had a tough five matches, and my body is good. I don't feel that tired. Physically I'm in the right place. Confidence is growing. I feel confident. I feel that I have the game to win matches. I'm not that scared when I lose serve because I lose often the serve, but I am confident in my return.
I'm not getting scared there. I didn't even think that I lost the serve, I just focused on the return. I just focused on every game I played. I was very positive”. Just like Simona Halep in Melbourne Summer Set 1, Amanda Anisimova ended a long wait of her own to clinch the second WTA title of her career at the Melbourne Summer Set 2.
The American beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 in two hours and nine minutes. Prior to Sunday’s title, Anisimova’s sole other title came at the 2019 Bogota Open.