World number three Agnieszka Radwanska ended the fantastic run of Romania’s Simona Halep in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open 2014 Indian Wells on Friday. The Polish star swept past the new world number five 6-3, 6-4 to reach the Premier Mandatory final for the first time.
“I played her a couple of weeks ago, so I kind of knew how she’s playing – obviously she had really great results for the last couple months,” Radwanska said. “First of all, she’s a very solid player. A lot of things come back and she’s really playing deep balls. What I was trying to do today was play aggressive from the beginning of the match and really just try to go for my shots. I was lucky.”
Despite the loss, Halep was gracious and complimented her opponent.
“She played really well – she deserved to win today,” Halep said. “Every ball was in for her, and I had to run a lot. I think I started the match a bit too soft. I was not ready to play. But she was playing great, and she’s a great player. Her game is very difficult for me. It’s always difficult to play her.
“She was just better than me today. For sure she will do great in the final on Sunday.”
“This tournament was very, very great for me. I played really good matches here, and I’m very happy because I did semifinals. And I came after an injury – it was a small injury, but it was an injury, and it wasn’t easy. So I just want to enjoy my result. Tomorrow I’ll go to the pool and go shopping again.
“And I have to be happy for my new ranking. It’s No.5 in the world and it’s amazing for me. I’m not sad because I lost here. It happens. That’s tennis. I have to understand I cannot win every match.”
