WTA Montréal: Osaka leads the field - is Halep making her comeback?
Nine of the ten best players in the world are at the start of the WTA Tour 1000 tournament in Montréal. However, there is a question mark behind Simona Halep .
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Aug 03, 2021, 04:35 pm
The tennis season 2021, it didn't even start that badly for Simona Halep. The Romanian reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open with a success against Iga Swiatek (who she had shot from the court in Roland Garros in the autumn), where she lost to Serena Williams . This can still happen to almost all players on good days for the American, including Halep. Then a short appearance in Miami, where the Romanian couldn't play for the second match against Anastasija Sevastova.
After proper tournament appearances in Stuttgart and Madrid, the dramatic end in Rome against Angelique Kerber , where the German had to support Simona Halep on her way from the center court. Since then, regeneration has been the order of the day, the start at the Olympics fell through as well as the defense of the title at Wimbledon. What is also noticeable for Halep in the WTA world rankings: There she suddenly only completes the top ten.
Osaka in Montreal number one, Barty missing
In the current week, the two-time major winner was finally seen again: At the WTA Tour 250 tournament in Cluj, Simona Halep came close to the tennis scene again, if only as a spectator. Apparently more is not possible at the moment for the now 29-year-old, who has so far achieved 22 individual titles in her career. The last one dates from 2020 in Rome, when the tournament was played after the US Open.
A trip to Canada could be worthwhile, in Montreál Simona Halep has already struck twice: 2016 and 2018. But whether the North American hard courts are the right thing for Halep's ailing calf? In any case, the competition is impressive: only Ashleigh Barty , number one in the world, will be missing in Montréal. Naomi Osaka tops the seeding list ahead of Aryna Sabalenka and Sofia Kenin . Olympic champion Belinda Bencic also mentioned. And Halep only goes into the tournament as number nine, so he could meet one of the current top players in the round of 16.