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Simona Halep: back-to-back Grand Slams not possible

By Harry Floyd

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 05: Simona Halep of Romania serves against Saisai Zheng of China during their Ladies' Singles second round match on day four of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 5, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 05: Simona Halep of Romania serves against Saisai Zheng of China during their Ladies' Singles second round match on day four of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 5, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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Simona Halep is a new Grand Slam singles champion on the WTA Tour. She is coming off of her first ever win at the French Open.

Facing Hsieh Su-wei in the 2018 Wimbledon round of 32, Simona Halep found herself in a tough spot. The top seed and current French Open singles champion had dropped the second set, allowing the Taiwanese tennis player back into contention. Hsieh’s appearance against Halep matched her best ever run at the major tournament in London. At 32-years-old, she has plenty of WTA experience to draw upon. Halep’s chances at advancing deeper into the Grand Slam were in jeopardy during her third set on Saturday.

The back and forth nature of the third set captivated every pair of eyes watching the match. Already, second seed Caroline Wozniacki and defending champion Garbine Muguruza had been ousted from the 2018 Wimbledon Championships.

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Hsieh would not give up against Halep. The match had gone 6-3 4-6 before a critical third would determine the outcome. The Taiwanese tennis star showed tenacious ability, not backing down from Halep’s advances. The French Open champion showed signs of weakness. A 7-5 final set in favor of Hsieh would end the top seed’s time at Wimbledon. It might be the biggest upset of the tournament so far on the women’s side of the daw. We have already seen several top seeds and former champions fall out in the early rounds. This, however, is even more significant. The Grand Slam in London could very well see a new champion on the women’s singles side.

Hsieh Su-wei completes the upset over top seed and current French Open champion Simona Halep. She advances into a career best fourth round at the Wimbledon Championships.

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The Taiwanese tennis veteran was all smiles in her post match interview, saying that she is enjoying her time at Wimbledon. Stay tuned to see how Simona Halep fares throughout the rest of the 2018 WTA Tour. She will likely bounce back from the loss quickly but it is a disappointing exit for the Romanian tennis star. On the men’s side, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal remain the favorites to take home the title.

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