TENNIS, WTA, 03.11.2013. Simona Halep battled back to win the title from the Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Samantha Stosur.

Simona Halep of Romania won WTA Tournament of the Champions in Sofia, Bulgaria, Saturday, Nov. 3, 2013 (BFT/sofia-tennis.bg)
 
The title in Sofia concludes one incredibly successful season for the Romanian. Halep won 6 trophies in 2013, second only to Serena Williams. What is more, Simona suffered from a muscle strain in her left leg, but still managed to survive the final battle in Arena Armeec.

WTA Tournament of the Champions in Sofia, Bulgaria (BFT/sofia-tennis.bg)
 
Stosur won the first three games of the match, while Halep was clearly not moving too well on the court. The Australian secured a 5-2 lead and a setpoint and Halep gave away the set with a double fault.

Samantha Stosur of Australia returns a shot to Simona Halep of Romania during the WTA Tournament of Champions final match in Sofia, November 3, 2013. (BFT/sofia-tennis.bg)
 
In the beginning of the second set, each of the finalist broke the opponents serve, but the result was 2-2, when the time for a momentum swing came. Halep won the next 4 games and levelled the sets.
 
The decisive moment was the fifth game in the third set, when Simona broke again and grabbed the next three games as well to clinch the title in her first appearance at the Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions.

Simona Halep of Romania, WTA Tournament of the Champions in Sofia, Bulgaria (BFT/sofia-tennis.bg)
 
Mr. Serhan Baykal, Board Member of Garanti Koza, awarded the champion Simona Halep. The finalist, Samantha Stosur, received her prize from Mrs. Stefka Kostadinova, Chairman of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee. The two players also received beautiful bouquets from the Tournament Director Mr. Stefan Tzvetkov. In the VIP box were present the Romanian tennis legend Ilie Nastase, the Romanian Minister of Youth and Sports and George Cosac, President of the Romanian Tennis Federation.

Simona Halep of Romania displays her trophy after her tennis victory against Samantha Stosur of Australia at the final of the WTA Tournament of the Champions in Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013. (AP Photo/ Valentina Petrova)

“On behalf of Garanti Koza, I wish to thank all the players and to congratulate Ms. Halep, the winner of the 2013 Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions”, Mr. Baykal said. “We really enjoyed being the title sponsor of the tournament. I also wish to thank the Bulgarian Tennis Federation for giving us this opportunity. We are looking forward to the next edition of the tournament in 2014.”
 
“It was a tough match, Simona was too good today. I want to congratulate her, for me it's time to get some rest”, Stosur commented.
 
“It was an incredible week for me”, Simona Halep said. “I want to thank the fans, who came to support me and helped me win the title. I am also grateful to the title sponsor Garanti Koza, who made this tournament possible.”

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Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria, WTA Tournament of the Champions in Sofia, Bulgaria, Saturday, Nov. 3, 2013 (BFT/sofia-tennis.bg)

Ana Ivanovic of Serbia returns a shot to Simona Halep of Romania during their semi-final tennis match of the WTA Tournament of the Champions in Sofia, Bulgaria, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/ Valentina Petrova)

Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria, WTA Tournament of the Champions in Sofia, Bulgaria (BFT/sofia-tennis.bg)