PRAGUE: Top seed Simona Halep produced a scintillating performance as she defeated Elise Mertens in straight sets to clinch the Prague Open title.
Halep beat No. 3 seed Mertens 6-2, 7-5 in the summit clash that lasted one hour and 33 minutes on Sunday.
The World No.2 has now collected trophies in both her last tournament before the WTA Tour shutdown, in Dubai in February, and her first tournament since its resumption, extending her winning streak to nine matches and counting.
"It was really tough to get back to official matches after such a long break," she told press as per the WTA website after the match. "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 restrictions 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," added the 28-year-old.
This was Halep's 21st career WTA trophy - the fifth-highest tally of active players behind only Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters and Petra Kvitova. IANS
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