Image: Mar 29, 2016; Key Biscayne, FL, USA; Timea Bacsinszky celebrates after match point against Simona Halep (not pictured) during day nine of the Miami Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sport
(Reuters) – Another high seed fell as number five Simona Halep was sent packing by Timea Bacsinszky 4-6 6-3 6-2 in a Miami Open quarter-final in Florida on Tuesday.
Romanian Halep appeared well-placed for victory when she took the first set, but the 19th-seeded Swiss proved too strong in a match that stretched nearly two hours 30 minutes.
Watched by a crowd that included Swiss ski champion Lara Gut, Bacsinzky carved out some good moves of her own, and ended the match in style with a cross-court backhand winner.
“I came back from a long road,” 26-year-old Bacsinzky, who has battled injury, said in a courtside interview.
“For the past year she (Halep) has been an inspiration for me because I believe in hard work and I know she’s one of the players which work really hard. To be able to play that well against her and catch the win is really amazing.”
Halep’s exit left the event with only one of the top 12 women’s seeds – number two Angelique Kerber, the Australian Open champion from Germany.
Bacsinszky will meet either 15th seed Sevtlana Kuznetsova or her fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova, in the semi-finals.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Larry Fine)
Copyright 2015 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.
