Halep delight at winning inaugural Bucharest Open

Originally published on 14/07/14

The top seed needed just 68 minutes to win her second title of the year and close in on Maria Sharapova at the top of the Road to Singapore rankings.

“I really wanted to play this tournament and win it," said the Romanian. "Today's final was a very emotional one. The crowd was amazing and I want to thank everybody who played a part in the tournament. It's the first WTA tournament organised in Romania and I'm delighted with all my heart to have won it.

"What I wish for now is to get to Singapore and do an equally good job there. I want to play every match and every tournament to reach as high a ranking as possible."

Second seed Vinci went into the meeting with an impressive 9-1 record in finals. But although she opened up a 2-0 lead in the second set, world No.3 Halep proved too strong for the Italian as she fought back to take the title.

“Simona is an incredible tennis player and she has a phenomenal game,” said Vinci. “I knew that it was going to be difficult…I gave it my best and I actually managed to get to 2-0 in the second set but she was too strong. However, it was nice to receive the support of the crowd, and I am happy to have played my first singles final of the year here.”

There was also home success in the doubles as Romanian duo Elena Bogdan and Alexandra Cadantu won their first title, beating Cagla Buyukakcay and Karin Knapp 6-4 3-6 10-5 in the final.

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