2018 Simona Halep tennis season

Halep began her season at the Shenzhen Open. She was the top seed and advanced to the final after successfully defeating Nicole Gibbs, Duan Yingying, Aryna Sabalenka and Irina-Camelia Begu. She defeated her in the opponent's final that eliminated her one year ago in R16 in three sets, Kateřina Siniaková.

Her next tournament was the Australian Open. She was the main draw favorite for the first time in a Grand Slam career. She defeated Destanee Aiava in straight sets, still in the first round injured at the right leg's ankle. She then beat Eugenie Bouchard, former world rank 5, Lauren Davis in an epic match that lasted 3 hours and 45 minutes taking the third set 15–13. The match equaled the Australian Open record for most games played in a women's singles draw match at 48 — equaling Chanda Rubin's 1996 quarterfinal win over Arantxa Sánchez Vicario.[2][3] She went on to defeat Naomi Osaka in the 4th round in straight sets and former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova in the quarter-finals, also in straight sets. She faced former world No. 1 and 2016 Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in the semi-finals. In the 3rd set, she saved two match points and went on to win, qualifying for the Australian Open final for the first time.

In the final, Halep was defeated by Caroline Wozniacki in three sets.[4][5]

After Australian Open fell to second place for four weeks.

Halep then played the Qatar Open, where she received a bye in the first round. She defeated Ekaterina Makarova with a bagel in the second set. The Australian Open finalist put together a dominant performance and needed just 58 minutes. She then defeated Anastasija Sevastova, seed 13 in straight sets. Her next opponent was American, CiCi Bellis. The first set was won by a bagel. In semifinal should have played with, but withdrawing prior to her match against Garbine Muguruza because of a right foot injury. Nevertheless, despite not playing the next week, she returned to the top spot.

Halep then played the Indian Wells Masters, where she received a bye in the first round. She defeated Kristýna Plíšková in straight sets, Caroline Dolehide in three sets, Wang Qiang in straight sets and Petra Martić in three sets, in straight sets before she lost to Naomi Osaka again in the semifinal.[6]

Halep then entered the Miami Open, where she also received a bye in the first round. In round 2 beat French Océane Dodin in three sets. However, she lost in the third round to 2012 champion Agnieszka Radwanska.[7]

She kicked off her clay court campaign by leading Romania against Switzerland in their World Group Play-off tie in Cluj-Napoca. By virtue of a 3-1 victory with Halep going 2-0 in the singles rubbers, they secured a place in the 2019 World Group for the first time in two years.[8]

After Fed Cup, Halep went to Stuttgart where she knocked a victory on Magdaléna Rybáriková before losing to quarters at CoCo Vandeweghe[9]

Halep then played the Madrid Open. She defeated Ekaterina Makarova, giving up just one game, Elise Mertens with a bagel in first set, Kristýna Plíšková and advanced into the quarterfinals. However, she lost Karolína Plíšková in straight sets, after winning the last two editions and after having only 15 victories in a row.

Halep's next tournament was the Italian Open, where she received a bye in the first round. She defeated Naomi Osaka, winner at Indian Wells, yielding a single game. In the third round should have played with Madison Keys, but the latter had to retire due to a shoulder injury, so Simona qualified in the quarter-finals without playing in round 3. In the quarter-finals defeated Caroline Garcia, the 7th World Player, with only 5 games. In semifinal has marred one of her rivals Russian, Maria Sharapova winning editions of 2011, 2012 and 2015 in an epic match. Simona won in 3 sets after losing the first set. In the final she lost to the same opponent last year, Elina Svitolina. She lost the first set to 0.

In the French Open, Halep was the 1st seed for the second time in a Grand Slam. In the first round, she defeated Alison Riske losing the first set. She was forced to compete on the 4th day on Wednesday after the match was postponed due to the dark. In the second round, she easily defeated the American wildcard Taylor Townsend. Her opponent in the third round was the 2014 semi-finalist, Andrea Petkovic. Halep defeated the German in straight sets, not losing a game in the second set. Her next opponent was the 16th seed Elise Mertens, who she defeated in 59 minutes, dropping just 3 games. In the quarterfinals, she met Kerber in a rematch of the Australian Open semifinal, and defeated her once again in three sets.. In the semi-final she met former world No. 1 and French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza, and defeated her in straight sets. In the final, Halep met Sloane Stephens, and came back from a set deficit to win her first Grand Slam title, on her fourth attempt. She became the first Romanian woman to win a Grand Slam title since Virginia Ruzici won the French Open in 1978.[10][11]

Halep's 2018 singles tournament schedule is as follows:

Date	Championship	Location	Category	Surface	2017 result	2017 points	2018 points	Outcome
1 January – 7 January	Shenzhen Open	Shenzhen	International	Hard	2R	30	280	Winner defeated Kateřina Siniaková 6–1, 2–6, 6–0
15 January – 28 January	Australian Open	Melbourne	Grand Slam	Hard	1R	10	1300	Final lost to Caroline Wozniacki 6–7(2–7), 6–3, 4–6
12 February – 17 February	Qatar Open	Doha	Premier 5[lower-alpha 1]	Hard	DNP	0	350	Semifinals withdrew to Garbiñe Muguruza N/A
5 March – 18 March	Indian Wells Open	Indian Wells	Premier Mandatory	Hard	3R	65	390	Semifinals lost to Naomi Osaka 3–6, 0–6
19 March – 1 April	Miami Open	Miami	Premier Mandatory	Hard	QF	215	65	Third round lost to Agnieszka Radwańska 6–3, 2–6, 3–6
23 April – 29 April	Stuttgart Open	Stuttgart	Premier	Clay (i)	SF	185	100	Quarterfinals lost to CoCo Vandeweghe 4–6, 1–6
7 May – 13 May	Madrid Open	Madrid	Premier Mandatory	Clay	W	1000	215	Quarterfinals lost to Karolína Plíšková 4–6, 3–6
14 May – 20 May	Italian Open	Rome	Premier 5	Clay	F	585	585	Final lost to Elina Svitolina 0–6, 4–6
27 May – 10 June	French Open	Paris	Grand Slam	Clay	F	1300	2000	Winner defeated Sloane Stephens 3–6, 6–4, 6–1
2 July – 15 July	Wimbledon	London	Grand Slam	Grass	QF	430	130	Third round lost to Hsieh Su-wei 6–3, 4–6, 5–7
6 August – 12 August	Canadian Open	Montréal	Premier 5	Hard	SF	350	900	Winner defeated Sloane Stephens 7–6(8–6), 3–6, 6–4
13 August – 19 August	Cincinnati Open	Cincinnati	Premier 5	Hard	F	585	585	Final lost to Kiki Bertens 6–2, 6–7(6–8), 2–6
20 August – 25 August	Connecticut Open	New Haven	Premier	Hard	DNP	0	0	Withdrew due to injuries to achilles tendon
27 August – 9 September	US Open	New York	Grand Slam	Hard	1R	10	10	First round lost to Kaia Kanepi 2–6, 4–6
23 September – 29 September	Wuhan Open	Wuhan	Premier 5	Hard	2R	1	1	Second round lost to Dominika Cibulková 0–6, 5–7
1 October – 7 October	China Open	Beijing	Premier Mandatory	Hard	F	650	10	First round lost to Ons Jabeur 1–6, retired
15 October – 21 October	Kremlin Cup	Moscow	Premier	Hard	DNP	0	0	Withdrew due to injuries to back injury
Road to Singapore points as of 2018 China Open						5675	6921	1246 difference
Total year-end points						6175	6921	746 difference

Players are ordered by letter. (Bold denotes a top 10 player at the time of the most recent match between the two players, Italic denotes top 50.)

Singles: 6 (3 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Jan 2018	Shenzhen Open, China	International	Hard	Katerina Siniaková	6–1, 2–6, 6–0
Loss	1–1	Jan 2018	Australian Open, Australia	Grand Slam	Hard	Caroline Wozniacki	6–7(2–7), 6–3, 4–6
Loss	1–2	May 2018	Italian Open, Italy	Premier 5	Clay	Elina Svitolina	0–6, 4–6
Win	2–2	Jun 2018	French Open, France	Grand Slam	Clay	Sloane Stephens	3–6, 6–4, 6–1
Win	3–2	Aug 2018	Canadian Open, Canada	Premier 5	Hard	Sloane Stephens	7–6(8–6), 3–6, 6–4
Loss	3–3	Aug 2018	Cincinnati Open, USA	Premier 5	Hard	Kiki Bertens	6–2, 6–76, 2–6

The tournaments won by Halep are in boldface.