From the beginning things were tight but Halep always seemed to have the edge, squeaking out the first set, 7-5, and staying on serve through much of the second set. But Cepelova broke away for a 5-3 lead in the second set and took it, 6-4, then went up 4-1 in the third against a shell-shocked Halep.
Halep, a semifinalist at Wimbledon a year ago, closed the gap to 4-3 but it was too little too late as the No.106-ranked Cepelova held her nerve to close it out after two hours and 15 minutes, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
"I'm so glad that I won today. Simona is such a tough opponent," Cepelova said. "I like big courts, and I just tried to do my best in the moment.
I think I was playing well today and I'm just so happy." Perhaps surprisingly, Cepelova's win over the World No.3 isn't the biggest win of her career - she beat Serena Williams, then the World No.1, in the first round of Charleston on green clay last April.
"Beating Serena definitely gave me the confidence that I could beat Top 10 players," the Slovak said. "I've had some tough moments this year, but everything is fine now. I'm just really proud." Halep talked about the shock loss in her post-match press conference.
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