Halep does 'what I wanted to do' to beat Gauff in Madrid final

Former world No.1 Simona Halep recorded the 30th Madrid Open win of her career, overcoming American phenom Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-4 on Monday,

Halep climbed back from 1-4 down in the second set to skip past Gauff in 77 minutes.

"I felt like I played exactly what I had to play," said the 30-year-old Halep, who is now 3-0 lifetime against Gauff.

"In the second set she changed a little bit, she was more aggressive and it wasn't easy to adjust. But in the end I pushed her back and I did what I wanted to do."

The Romanian two-time Grand Slam champion takes a 2-1 head-to-head record into her last-eight showdown with the Ons Jabeur, who at No.10 in the world, is the highest-ranked player left in the draw.

Madrid has been a happy hunting ground for Halep, who clinched the winner's trophy twice from a tournament record four final appearances in the Spanish capital.

A break in the ninth game was enough for Halep to scoop the opening set in 28 minutes and she wiped away a three-game deficit in the second to reach the quarter-finals without dropping a set.

Over on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium, Jabeur joked with the crowd that they should consider supporting her in the next match against Halep, who knocked out their home favourite Paula Badosa in the previous round.

"Just a reminder guys, Simona won against Paula and she's Spanish so if she wins you have to cheer for me," laughed Jabeur after her 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 success over reigning Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.

In a match that was interrupted by a sudden rain storm that flooded the court, Jabeur put on a show in the final game, flaunting her unique touch and pulling off impossible gets on her way to the last eight.

The win came on a special occasion for the Tunisian as she celebrates Eid with the