Simona Halep can’t say which of her National Bank Open titles means the most to her, but she knows she’ll never forget her third.
Halep beat Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 in the final of the WTA event on Sunday. The Romanian also won the title in Montreal in 2016 and 2018 when the tournament was called the Rogers Cup.
“It’s hard to compare. I’m a different person. I’ve changed a lot. But the happiness of winning a title is the same,” Halep, 30, said with the National Bank Open trophy by her side. “This tournament is a pretty big tournament, it’s a big tournament.
“It’s a big win, in my opinion. I really take it with both hands. It gives me an extra push to believe there’s more to come.”
That confidence and optimistic outlook are marked changes for Halep, who admitted earlier this season that she was considering retiring from professional tennis in 2021 after falling out of the top 10 in the world rankings.
But this win — the 24th title of her career and first since taking over from Patrick Mouratoglou as coach in April — will move her up to sixth in the rankings.
“When I started the year I didn’t have much confidence and I set myself the goal of being, at the end of the year, in the top 10. And here I am,” said Halep. “So it’s a very special moment.
“I’ll enjoy it. I’ll give myself credit. I’m just dreaming of more.”
Haddad Maia, 26, has yet to win a tennis tournament at this level, but has risen up the WTA Tour rankings this year.
LOOK | Halep shines in Toronto, winning 24th career title:
Simona Halep wins her third National Bank Open title
Romania’s Simona Halep beat Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia in 3 sets, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, to win the National Bank Open.
She upset three seeded players at the National Bank Open: 13th seed Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, 12th seed Belinda Bencic and 14th seed Karolina Pliskova in a row before pushing Halep to three sets. first Masters 1000 final.
Haddad Maia was ranked 183 in the world in 2021, but entered this tournament as the No. 24 seed and will be ranked inside the top 20 next week based on his strong play at Sobeys Stadium.
“I think we’re getting a lot better every day,” Haddad Maia said. “Not even in matches, but outside the Tour, when we are training.
“We’re taking care of my body. We’re doing good things.”
Some Brazilian fans, many of them wearing yellow national football kits, started chanting “Bee-ah! Bee-ah!” to cheer on Haddad-Maia as she took a 3-0 lead in the first set.
“I think Brazilians are not used to cheering for tennis,” Haddad Maia said with a laugh. “Sometimes they shout a little more. They think they’re at a football game.
“I was very happy to hear ‘Bias’, ‘come on Bia’, ‘come on Bia’, ‘keep fighting.’
“I really wanted to win it in Toronto”
Haddad Maia’s supporters were soon drowned out by Romanian fans’ chants of “See-moh-nah! See-moh-nah!” The sizable Romanian contingent had inspired Halep before she even set foot on center court.
“I really wanted to win it in Toronto,” Halep said, referring to her previous wins in Montreal. “There are many Romanians here and they always come out to support me.
“I’m very happy to be able to win here as well.”
The chant seemed to wake Halep up. A deep forehand return at set point was just beyond the reach of Haddad Maia’s outstretched racket and sealed six straight games for Halep as she rallied to take the first set.
Haddad Maia took Halep’s stunning comeback to take a 4-0 lead in the second set. Although Halep took two games, Haddad Maia jumped out to a 40-15 lead with the set on the line and then her serve handcuffed her opponent to force a decisive third set.
“I try to forgive myself, even if I miss, if I did something wrong,” Haddad Maia said of recovering to win the second set. “Even when I lost six games in a row, I think Simona wasn’t playing her best tennis, so maybe she could be nervous at this point as well.”
Halep’s backhand at the net gave her a 5-2 lead in the third set and whipped the fans into another chant of “See-moh-nah!”
Haddad Maia stayed in the match, winning another game when her high backhand volley fell to make it 5-3. Leading 40-15 in the ninth game of the third set, Halep clinched her first title in Toronto when Haddad Maia put her return at the net.
Later, the American duo of Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula beat Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Australia’s Ellen Pere 6-4, 7-6, (10) to win the doubles title.
Pablo Carreño Busta wins the Men’s National Bank Open
Pablo Carreño Busta defied the odds all week at the National Bank Open. The unseeded Spaniard did not concede in Sunday’s final.
He overcame a slow start to a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland to win a Masters 1000 title for the first time in his career.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” he said. “I worked very, very hard [throughout] my career to finally be here.”
Steady shooting and overall consistency were the difference in a final that turned early in the second set. A Hurkacz double fault and three missed forehands gave Carreno Busta a 2-0 lead and a boost ahead of the deciding set.
He earned another early break in the third that forced Hurkacz to press more often. The Polish player was 18-4 in aces but Carreno Busta attacked his second serve and broke it again to end the match in one hour and 45 minutes.
“It’s the little things that make a big difference,” Hurkacz said. “If you don’t make your first serves and with Pablo making good returns, then you’re under a lot of pressure.”
LOOK | Carreno Busta defeats Hurkacz:
Carreno Busta beats Hurkacz to win National Bank Open title
Spain’s Pablo Carreño Busta defeated Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to win the men’s singles final at the National Bank Open.
Carreno Busta became the first unseeded player to win this tournament since Argentina’s Guillermo Canas in 2002.
It was the seventh ATP Tour title of his career.
“It’s not the first, but it’s certainly the most important,” said Carreño Busta. “It’s a Masters 1000. It’s a great thing to win these kinds of titles.”
The 11,715 sell-out crowd at the IGA Stadium also witnessed one of the tournament’s highlights. The third set went to Carreno Busta and Hurkacz never recovered.
After a series of layups, Carreno Busta came to the net and hit a deep shot that a sprawling Hurkacz sent across the court into the back corner.
The Spaniard managed to chase him down and skied a desperate floater that landed just inside the line. Hurkacz couldn’t avoid an overhead kick and Carreno Busta returned to the rally.
Carreno Busta soon returned to the net for a drop that Hurkacz backhanded. Carreno Busta capped the comeback with a backflip that electrified the crowd.
The Spaniard stretched his arms out as he received a standing ovation. Hurkacz threw his racket on the hard court in frustration.
“My game during the week was very, very high”
“I think it was an incredible point,” Carreño Busta said. “It’s just one point, but it was very, very good for confidence.”
Hurkacz, who won his first Masters 1000 title last year in Miami, went down 5-1 in the ATP Tour Finals. 23rd-ranked Carreño Busta improved to 7-5 in recent appearances.
The Spaniard upset No. 11 Matteo Berrettini in the first round and took out another Italian in No. 7 Jannik Sinner in the third round. Carreno Busta didn’t lose a set until Great Britain’s Daniel Evans went the distance in the semi-finals.
“My game during the week was very, very high,” said Carreño Busta. “I really played [well)]from the first match against Berrettini to the last against Hubie.”
Hurkacz got his power play going early on a glorious summer afternoon.
He led all players in aces this week and his serve was back on form as he controlled the first set in a tidy 31 minutes. But Carreno Busta picked up his pace and seemed to figure out Hurkacz’s game.
Carreno Busta couldn’t match Hurkacz’s serving power—few players can—but the quality placement and touch of his volleys proved effective.
Carreno Busta earned $915,295 of the $6.57 million total purse. Hurkacz collected $499,830 as the runner-up.
In the doubles final, the third-seeded duo of Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Neal Skupski of Great Britain defeated Evans and John Peers of Australia 6-2, 4-6, 10-6.
Organizers said a total of 237,733 spectators took in the action during the week, a record for the men’s tournament at this venue. The previous high of 223,023 was set in 2019, the last time this event was held at full capacity.
Unseeded American Reilly Opelka reached last year’s final in Toronto before losing to Russian top seed Daniil Medvedev.
The men’s tournament will be played next year in Toronto and the women’s tournament on the WTA Tour will return to Montreal.