No. 2 Simona Halep fought back from a set down while battling a leg injury to beat No. 24 Sabine Lisicki on Monday, winning 6-7, 7-5, 6-2 in more than two-and-a-half hours at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Halep was frustrated with her own play, repeatedly hitting herself with her own racket throughout the match, prompting commentator Brad Gilbert to ask the 23-year-old Romanian why she would hit herself with the bandage on her thigh.
"I have strong legs so it's okay," she replied, after securing the first US Open quarterfinal berth of her career. Halep struggled early, but moved on thanks to improved play in the final two sets, as well as 72 unforced errors from her German opponent.
Halep’s in the first set: 6W/19UE Halep in the second & third sets: 12W/14UE. Really solidified her game.
— Jeff Donaldson (@jddtennis) September 7, 2015
The first set was rough for both players, with Halep struggling on serve with five double-faults and Lisicki committing 23 unforced errors on her forehand alone. The pair exchanged three breaks before heading to a tiebreak, which Lisicki won 8-6.
Halep called a medical timeout before the second set due to pain in her left thigh, a possible re-aggravation of an injury that forced her to withdraw from the Rogers Cup final in Toronto.
The pair's inability to hold serve continued with Halep, on one leg, battling through the pain to convert all five break-point opportunities she had while Lisicki went 4-for-6. The Romanian took the set 7-5, and both players were sent off the court for a 10-minute heat break before the decider.
Early in the third, it was the German who showed signs of cramping in both legs, and Halep took advantage with a break in the sixth game to go up 4-2. Lisicki blew a chance to break back, yanking two easy returns wide after going up 30-0. She had nothing left in the tank after that, as Halep would break again to take the match.
Halep will take on two-time major champion Victoria Azarenka, who beat unseeded Varvara Lepchenko in straight sets in her fourth-round match. They played each other twice in 2012, with Azarenka winning both matches in straight sets.
