Romanian tennis star Simona Halep qualified to the quarter finals of the tennis championships at Wimbledon after a three-set victory against American Madison Keys. She will play against Germany’s Angelique Kerber for a place in the semifinals.

Simona Halep, who was eliminated in the first round at Wimbledon last year, is close to equal her best performance at the British tournament, where she got to the semifinals in 2014. She beat Slovak Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the first round (6-4, 6-1), Italian Francesca Schiavone in the second round (6-1, 6-1), and Dutchwoman Kiki Bartens in the third round (6-4, 6-3).

In the fourth round, she had to work harder against Madison Keys. Halep came from behind as Keys won the first set at tiebreak, 7-6 and led 2-0 in the second set. “She had a set and 2-0. But I knew I had to be strong and focus on my game. I was strong mentally. I am feeling confident and I feel that I am close to my best,” the Romanian champion said after the two-hour match.

Halep has three victories over her quarter final opponent Angelique Kerber, but the German won their only match this year, 6-2, 6-2 in the Fed Cup encounter between Romania and Germany. Kerber ranks 4th in the WTA ranking, after having won the Australian Open at the beginning of this year, while Halep is 5th. The Romanian won the Madrid Open in May.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Wimbledon on Facebook, Photo credit: AELTC/Jon Buckle)