A select band of players have the ability to make the game look effortless. Count Halep among them – rarely was she caught off-balance or out of position by Pereira, finishing the match with 19 winners and just nine unforced errors.
She moves with grace, strikes with purpose and is free of the shrieks, tics and fist-pumps of her contemporaries. It is an enchanting combination. Halep’s record at The Championships – now three wins, three losses – must be read with a couple of caveats. For the past three years she has fallen in three sets, and always to a higher-ranked opponent. In 2011, her second-round opponent was Serena Williams; last year, at the same stage, Na Li. Over the past 12 months, however, the 22-year-old has successfully completed the transition from junior world No.1 to WTA top-10 player. Six titles in 2013 – including a grass-court crown at s-Hertogenbosch – were followed by a seventh in Doha earlier this year, propelling her into the world’s top 10. However, her true arrival at the sport’s top table came earlier this month, in the final at Roland Garros. Halep fell in three hard-fought sets at the hands of Maria Sharapova, but her status as the leading light of a new generation was confirmed. The sun had all but left Centre Court when Halep and Pereira stepped out at 7pm. The No.3 seed made the perfect start, breaking Pereira in the opening game before holding to love. The Brazilian, an attacking player by design, was simply prevented from getting onto the front foot to unleash her forehand as Halep soaked up any pressure and marshalled the play.
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