Simona Halep extends fine form to reach Dubai Tennis Championships semi-finals

Simona Halep continued her encouraging start to the season on Thursday by reaching her third semi-final at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships following an impressive win over Tunisia's Ons Jabeur.

Halep, a former world No 1, has endured numerous injury setbacks over the past 12 months and was unable to defend her Dubai title last year, but the Romanian appears on a mission to make up for lost time. Starting the season with a title in Melbourne, Halep is well on course to make it two trophies from three tournaments in 2022 after a fine 6-4, 6-3 victory against the last remaining seeded player in the draw.

"I'm really pleased with the match," Halep, 30, said. "I played good tennis and was super strong in the legs. I knew that she changes the rhythm a lot; it was never easy to actually find the rhythm during the match, but I did well and I'm really happy that I could win against a tough opponent."

The Romanian's conversion rate from this stage in Dubai is flawless: both times Halep previously reached the semi-finals, she went on to win the tournament.

In fact, Halep has been flawless in Dubai going back two years. Having missed her title defence, the two-time Grand Slam champion is now on a seven-match winning run at the event.

That streak includes two wins over Jabeur. The first time these players met, in the second round two years ago, Halep edged an enthralling encounter after a marathon tiebreak in the third set.

The rematch looked like it could shape up to be another classic as the contrasting styles of Halep and Jabeur ensured another entertaining encounter; Halep with her relentless running and baseline consistency, up against Jabeur's power, variety, and famous dropshot. As two of the best-supported players in