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WIMBLEDON, England — Simona Halep became the first Romanian woman to reach a Wimbledon singles final, defeating Elina Svitolina, 6-1, 6-3, on Thursday.
It was a match full of extended rallies, but Halep’s consistency, marvelous two-handed backhand and deep focus made the difference.
Svitolina, who was playing in her first Grand Slam singles semifinal, and Halep have similar counterpunching styles. Both are fast with balanced baseline games. Svitolina had won four of their seven previous matches, with Halep winning their most recent duel: a draining three-setter in the semifinals in Doha this year.