DUBAI // Simona Halep is looking to channel the spirit of Justine Henin tonight when she faces Karolina Pliskova in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
The Romanian, at 167.5 centimetres, is one of the smallest players on the WTA Tour and 15cm smaller than her Czech opponent.
But for Halep size does not matter – and childhood hero Henin is the proof.
Henin, the seven-time grand slam title winner and former world No 1, claimed a record four titles at the Aviation Club between 2003 and 2007, despite standing at just 166.3cm.
Halep, who once joked she is half the size of Maria Sharapova, secured her place in her first Dubai final on Friday night after fighting back from a set down to Caroline Wozniacki to conclusively beat the Dane 2-6, 6-1, 6-1.
“You know, when I was young I knew that I would be a short girl,” said Halep, who will return to third in the WTA world rankings when they are released next week.
“My idol was Justine Henin because we have the same height.
“I think we are faster, much faster than taller girls. We can play fast tennis. We cannot serve 190kph, so we have just to try to be aggressive, to take the ball very quickly and to finish the points.”
Halep has never faced Pliskova before in a tour event, but the 182.8cm Czech recalled meeting on court as juniors and playing for “eight hours or something”.
“I didn’t know that I played against her,” Halep said.
“I thought it would be my first time.
“But now it’s another day, another level, another tennis.
“I’m just trying to win, trying to fight every point.”
Halep is certainly a fighter. Last night, under the floodlights and cheered on by a surprising amount of Romanian spectators, she appeared lost as Wozniacki broke twice in the first set to quickly race to a 6-2 lead.
When Halep changed strategy, though, opting to play more measuredly, the match turned on its head.
“When I started the match I started with a bad tactic,” said 23-year-old Halep, who won in Doha last year.
“I just wanted to hit every ball and I did many mistakes. I couldn’t find the rhythm. In the second set I said that I have to change it and open the court more.
“I didn’t want to force too much like in the first set. That worked very well for me and I just kept doing it until the end.”
She closed out the final two sets with remarkable ease, prompting questions regarding Wozniacki’s fitness. The two-time US Open finalist has been ill this week and revealed later the concoction of pharmaceutical drugs she has been taking: “cough syrup, Tylenol, aspirin, Advil, lozenges and a few other things”.
“I definitely think it’s taken a toll on me,” said Wozniacki, ranked No 5 in the world.
“I’m still pretty pleased with my week considering everything that has been going on though.
“Unfortunately it wasn’t enough. It was just like the air of the balloon just kind of went out.”
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