Simona Halep capped off her impressive run at the Canadian Open by defeating a surging Beatriz Haddad Maia in the final to win her third title in Toronto.
The former world number 1 earned a hard-fought 6-3 2-6 6-3 win over the Brazilian which will help her re-enter the top 10 in rankings at number six when they are updated today (Monday).
Things did not start well for Halep with her serving woes from her semifinal carrying over at the outset of the final as four double faults and being broken in the opening game left her in a 3-0 hole.
But the Romanian responded by drawing the Brazilian into longer rallies to reel off six straight games, sealing the opening set with a forehand winner to the adulation of the crowd.
Haddad Maia stormed back to take the second set and send the encounter into the decider where she faltered to hand Halep a 4-1 lead that she did not relinquish.
The two-time Grand Slam champion sealed her ninth WTA 1000 title when Haddad Maia’s service return found the net on match point.
The loss ended an impressive run at the tournament for Haddad Maia, who toppled Leylah Fernandez, world number one Iga Swiatek and Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic en route to the final.
Haddad Maia will break into the top 20 for the first time after her final run.
Meanwhile, Pablo Carreño Busta joins Simona Halep as the men’s winner of the Canadian Open. The Spaniard defeated Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 3-6, 6-3,6-3 for his first Masters 1000 title.
