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NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Simona Halep says her dream is to someday become a top-10 tennis player, and she is doing her part this summer to help make that happen. Halep beat Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 7-5 on Friday night to reach the New Haven Open final. The 21-year-old Romanian will be seeking her fourth title after winning three times on the WTA Tour since June. "I have big confidence in me now," she said. She will face defending champion Petra Kvitova. The Czech star beat countrywoman Klara Zakopalova 6-0, 6-1 for her eighth consecutive match victory in New Haven. Halep, currently ranked 23rd, is now 28-5 in her last 33 matches (30-5 counting qualifying matches). It is a string that began in Rome in May when she was ranked 64th in the world and made the semifinals. She expects her rank to rise to 21 on Monday. "Ill try to do my best to get in top 20, because its first step," she said. "Its very hard, I know, but I have to keep going my hard work and to try to be in top 20 as soon as possible. "Its my dream." Halep got the first of her six services breaks in the first game of the match, and appeared to be in complete control when she broke the Danish star again to open the second set. But Wozniacki kept fighting. She broke back, and did it again after dropping her serve to Halep in the sets fifth game. Halep kept the pressure on and broke again to take a 6-5 lead, using a bit of luck. The 21-year-old mishit a return that floated high and into the middle of the court. But Wozniacki hit what appeared to be an easy overhead smash well wide. "I dont know how I missed that by like a mile," she said. "It was a pretty crucial point as well, so pretty disappointing there." Wozniacki saved two match points to get to deuce on Haleps final serve, but the Romanian put a backhand cross court for a winner to take the match. The loss was just the second for Wozniacki in 25 career matches in New Haven, where she is a four-time champion. Her only other defeat came a year ago when she was forced to retire from the semifinals because of a knee injury. "Its a very like empty feeling in a way, because Ive been so used to winning here and I love winning," she said. Halep won her three titles in Europe, two on clay and another on grass. Her best previous showing in the U.S. Open series was in Cincinnati, where she was eliminated in the quarterfinals last week. "But now Im playing really good on hard (courts), too," she said. "So I dont know which one is my favourite. I like all the surfaces now." Kvitova, who had fought through three, three-set matches en route to her semifinal, dominated Zakopalova in a meeting that lasted only 50 minutes. "I played my game, finally today," she said. "I played aggressively. I can improve my serve. I had some double faults again, so I can still improve." That might be hard for Zakopalova to believe. Kvitova won 53 of the 76 points in the match. Zakopalova earned only three points in the second set before holding serve and closing to 5-1 with her only game win. She finished with 10 points in the set. Kvitova ended things on her serve, striking an ace on the final point. "She just played fantastic tennis today without any mistakes," Zakopalova said. "I think everything was working for her, so I have to just congratulate her, wish her good luck because she was the better player today, for sure." Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, has never won the same tournament in consecutive years. She would like to add that feat to an already impressive resume. "I have one more new motivation then," she said. BEAVER CREEK, Colo. -- The new Beaver Creek downhill course features a gliding section near the start for a skier to drop into a tuck and build speed. There are technical turns in the middle, followed by a steep part -- maybe the steepest on the World Cup circuit -- and then a giant jump at the finish. An ideal course for Lindsey Vonn -- if she were here, of course. The four-time overall World Cup champion was supposed to make her return this week from a serious right knee injury she suffered in a crash last February. But after hurting her knee again in a training mishap last week, Vonn will sit out to rest and rehab because everything she does is with an eye toward the Sochi Games, which are less than three months away. Her fellow competitors spent the morning learning the nuances of a challenging course called "Raptor" in downhill training on Tuesday, with Lara Gut of Switzerland posting the fastest time of 1 minute, 43.42 seconds. No Vonn now, but there is a chance she could be in the starting gate on Dec. 6 in Lake Louise, Alberta, a venue thats treated her so well that its playfully dubbed "Lake Lindsey." At least, U.S. womens head coach Alex Hoedlmoser remains hopeful that Vonns ailing right knee will be ready for a return to racing in time for Lake Louise. "Its all going to be determined on how her knee feels," Hoedlmoser said in an interview with The Associated Press. "Its up to her. Shes the only one who knows how her knee feels." Hoedlmoser was there the day of Vonns crash at the speed centre in Copper Mountain last Tuesday, when she tumbled going from sunshine into the shade on a tricky part of the hill. Vonn partially tore one of the reconstructed ligaments in her surgically repaired knee. The reigning Olympic downhill champion will continue to go through therapy on her knee and hasnt ruled out Lake Louise. Her good friend and rival, Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany, visited with Vonn the other day just to lift her spirits. She fully expects to see Vonn back sooner rather than later. "Shes of course sad she cant be here," said Hoefl-Riesch, who turned in the eighth-fastest training time on Tuesday, 1.01 seconds behind Gut. "But she was positive because shes not out for the season and that she maybe can come back next week already. If anyybody is strong enough in the head, its her.dddddddddddd" This new course -- the site of the 2015 world championships -- appears well suited for Vonn given all the terrain changes. Heres some of the feedback on the hill from the fastest skiers on the circuit: -- "Its quick. A lot of switches are quick and a lot of technical turns -- intimidating sections. Its got a little bit of everything. Its pretty awesome," American Julia Mancuso said. -- "Its really cool. But its one of the hardest," said Austrias Anna Fenninger, who had the second-best overall time. -- "Its one of the most difficult downhills in the World Cup. I love it. Its great," Hoefl-Riesch said. -- "Every downhill in the world should be like that," Gut said. And yet the reigning World Cup downhill champion wasnt around to enjoy it. "I feel really sorry what happened to her," said Slovenias Tina Maze, who captured the overall crown last season by accumulating a record 2,414 points. "We all wish her all the best. You want healthy competitors." Especially one with the instant name recognition of Vonn, who just so happens to be dating golfer Tiger Woods as well. She was way ahead of schedule from the torn ACL she suffered during a high-speed crash at the world championships last February before wiping out again. "Lindsey for sure is very important for Alpine skiing," said Atle Skaardal, the womens race director for the International Ski Federation (FIS). "Thats very tough for everybody. These things happen. Its difficult to avoid. Its a sport where we have speed involved and, unfortunately, accidents happen even though we have a lot of different projects running to make the sport as safe as possible. Something can always happen." The timetable for Vonns return is completely up to her, Hoedlmoser said. Theres no rush for a return even with Sochi rapidly approaching. "Even if it comes down to that shes not going to be able to do much racing before (the Olympics), were for sure going to bring her to do training runs (in Sochi) and then decide from there," Hoedlmoser said. Possible for Vonn not to ski all season and still compete at a high level in Sochi? "Yes," Hoedlmoser said. "Because shes the best in the world." Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '
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