FEZ, Morocco (AP) — Simona Halep of Romania beat Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the final of the Grand Prix SAR for the second year in a row.
The seventh-seeded Halep made the most of her opponent’s weak serve to break her six times. She had the decisive break in the ninth game of the second set and served out the match at love.
Halep lost to Iveta Benesova in last year’s final after coming through the qualifiers.
She will next play either former top-ranked player Dinara Safina of Russia or Italian veteran Alberta Brianti. Safina is playing her first semifinal on the WTA tour since her runner-up finish at Cincinnati in August 2009.
