STARNBERG, August 16, 2020
Simona Halep is the champion of the 2020 Prague Open. The top seed of the WTA International Event defeated the tournament’s No. 3 Elise Mertens from Belgium 6-2, 7-5 in Sunday’s singles final.
Halep broke her opponent’s serve six times to seal victory in one hour and 33 minutes.
Top seed @Simona_Halep wins her 21st career WTA singles title 🏆 and her first of the summer ☀️
Halep defeats Mertens, 6-2, 7-5, to claim the @tennispragueopn trophy! pic.twitter.com/euUERFlEQG
— wta (@WTA) August 16, 2020
The 28-year-old Romanian was thrilled to have completed a successful week amidst the new coronavirus-safe protocols of the tour’s resumption. “It was really tough to get back to official matches after such a long break,” Halep told press, quoted by the WTA website.
“The emotions after staying in the room for 10 days were not easy – but you know, I have to take the positives also, I was able to win the tournament which means a lot.
“I was a little worried at the beginning but here we felt very safe, and all the restructions and rules were respected – we can do tournaments like this week, I feel it’s a big chance for us to participate again. It’s very different and a little stressful and we have to adjust ourselves, but the fact that everyone was good these 10 days means that everything was really well done.”
Halep has clinched her 21st WTA career title, her second of the season following her triumph in Dubai in February. She took away from the capital city of the Czech Republic $25,000 in prize money as well as 280 WTA Ranking points.
