Halep crushes Kostyuk in Cluj-Napoca, to face Kontaveit in the final

Marta Kostyuk made headlines yesterday after smashing Emma Raducanu fairly easily in Cluj-Napoca but today she found herself on the receiving end of a beatdown by Emma's idol Simona Halep. Saying that Halep crushed Kostyuk is an understatement as the Romanian was simply too good. She entered this week in Romania in high spirits simply for being home and being able to play tennis.

It's something she has not been doing a lot lately and the opportunity to do so again filled her with joy. Her last triumph back home came in 2016 and that might change in 2021 as Halep is looking like the best player this week. Another convincing demolition came against Marta Kostyuk who is a player that usually does not get smashed easily.

They played in Indian Wells not long ago and Halep won fairly easily there as well but this performance was even more impressive. The first set ended in a bagel 6-0 for Halep who dominated play in every facet of the game. She dropped only one point on her first serve while reducing Kostyuk to 6 points in total on her own serve in 3 service games played.

The 2nd set was not a bagel but it was once again very impressive. Halep once again dominated on her own serve with ease while on return she waited for her chance on Kostyuk's 2nd serve. There were plenty of chances as the Ukrainian did not serve that well and Halep closed the 2nd out with 6-1. A proper trashing for a spot in the Transylvania Open final.