Straddling the baseline with the fast feet of a woman charging the finish line, Simona Halep raced to a career breakthrough. She controlled the court skillfully to build a one-set lead, then managed her emotions coolly to rally from a break down and seal a trip to her first Grand Slam final with a 6-2, 7-6 (4) dissection of Andrea Petkovic.
A year ago, Halep fell to Carla Suarez Navarro in the first round of Roland Garros. Since that loss, the Romanian has roared to a 64-13 record with seven titles, raised her clay-court record to 12-2 this season, and now stands within one win of her first major title.
Back, knee, and ankle injuries punished Petkovic in the past—she was ranked No. 138 when she lost in the second round of French Open qualifying last year—but she bounced back from it all in a rousing comeback that saw her win the Charleston title in April and pound 2012 French Open finalist Sara Errani in the quarterfinals…
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