In 2014, she advanced to the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, but was upended by the sprightly Dominika Cibulkova. She then sparkled through the French Open fortnight, all the way into the final. Halep played an excellent match against Maria Sharapova. And yet, excellence was insufficient against a formidable adversary. The Russian was a three-set victor.
At Wimbledon, Halep demonstrated her all surface versatility, reaching the penultimate round before the Canadian Eugenie Bouchard outplayed her from the backcourt. She closed that season at the Grand Slam events with a third round loss at the US Open, but advancing to the quarterfinals or better in three of the four majors—and making it to her first final—was a sign of significant progress.
In 2015, despite rising from No. 3 in the world up to No. 2, she was marginally less successful at the majors. She was a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open once more, bowing out against the talented left-hander Ekaterina Makarova. After winning only one match in the next two majors, the No. 2 seed had a golden opportunity at the US Open, taking on No. 26 seed Flavia Pennetta in the semifinals, with Serena Williams meeting unseeded Roberta Vinci later in the day. Williams—overcome by nerves as she closed in on the first calendar-year Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988—would suffer a startling loss to Vinci in three sets. Pennetta’s subsequent upset of Halep was buried in the day’s big news, but she faltered frequently from the baseline and was soundly beaten in that confrontation, much to her dismay.
On to 2016. Halep was ousted in the first round of the Australian Open, and lost in the round of 16 at Roland Garros. Nevertheless, she got to the quarterfinals at both Wimbledon and the US Open. Angelique Kerber—who would finish the year at No. 1 in the world after taking two majors—knocked Halep out of Wimbledon in a scintillating skirmish, 7-5, 7-6 (2). Halep competed honorably, but was outperformed by the enterprising German in a pair of hard-fought sets. In New York, Halep confronted Serena Williams in the quarterfinals, took a set, but was overpowered by the American in the end. She had endured another penetrating defeat.
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Nevertheless, Halep approached 2017 with vigor. Her first-round defeat against Shelby Rogers in Melbourne stung badly. But then Halep got on a roll at Roland Garros, and survived a harrowing quarterfinal against the resourceful Elina Svitolina. Down a set and 5-1 against a top clay-court competitor, Halep rallied to win, 3-6, 7-6 (6) 6-0—saving a match point in the process. She won her semifinal over Karolina Pliskova, and seemed poised to succeed against Jelena Ostapenko in the final.
This was Halep’s second final-round appearance in Paris. She won the first set and built a 3-0 lead in the second set. She was very nearly on the cusp of a landmark victory, but thereafter Halep was almost a spectator at her own match. Blasting away freely off both wings, unleashing one stupendous winner after another and playing an unstoppable brand of unconscious tennis, Ostapenko struck back boldly to stun Halep, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Nonetheless, despite that devastating setback, Halep moved into the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, and played with verve against Great Britain's Johanna Konta. But the big hitting Konta found her range, and Halep could not counter against her adversary’s aggression. Konta won this high-caliber contest in three spellbinding sets. Halep's habit of losing painfully close battles, despite playing magnificent tennis, continued.
Halep showed up in New York ready to make amends, but her first-round draw was daunting. She faced Sharapova under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium, played her heart out, but was beaten in three highly charged sets. Another season at the Grand Slam events was over, and Halep was found wanting again, despite throwing every fiber of her being into the proceedings.
SHARAPOVA VS. HALEP HIGHLIGHTS: