Halep's Stuttgart frustration rolls on
Ash Barty will meet Aryna Sabalenka in the Stuttgart Open final after Simona Halep's quest to win the tournament for the first time fell short again.
World No.3 Halep had claimed straight-set wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova and Marketa Vondrousova en route to the semi-finals, but met her match in the form of Belarusian Sabalenka, who triumphed 6-3 6-2.
A nine-time singles champion, Sabalenka made it into a 14th career final without conceding a single break, as she managed to keep Romanian Halep at arm's length.
Standing between Sabalenka and a 10th singles title is world No.1 Barty who celebrated her 25th birthday by coming from behind to defeat Elina Svitolina 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.
