Halep won 14 of the first 18 points, with many in the crowd roaring for each of the rare ones that went Williams’ way. Halep produced eight winners before a single unforced error, avoiding a ...

Halep broke to lead 3-2 in that set when Williams pushed a backhand long, and there wasn't much left from there. Halep only had been as far as the semifinals once at Wimbledon until now.

Not only did Halep exceed that total, she also snapped Williams’ 21-set Australian Open winning streak. That dated to the start of Williams’ run to the 2017 title, which she won while pregnant.

Or that Williams soundly beat Halep later at that same tournament. Or that Williams won their only match-up this season, at the Australian Open in January.

Serena Williams serves in her fourth-round match against Simona Halep during the Australian Open in Melbourne on Jan. 21, 2019.Scott Barbour/Getty Images ...

Williams, seeded No. 1, had held serve in 37 consecutive games over the past two weeks until Halep broke to get within 3-2 in the opening set. Still, Williams breezed through the rest of that set.

Serena Williams of the US hits a return against Romania's Simona Halep during their women's singles quarter-final match on day nine of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on ...

Halep beat Williams 6-0, 6-2 in the group stage, inflicting the American's heaviest loss in 16 years, and the 18-time Grand Slam winner joked about her diminished expectations for the re-match.

Halep, who defeated Williams in the 2019 final at the All England Club, first reached the top ranking in 2017 and is now 20th. Halep missed a chunk of last season because of a torn left calf.

When the season-ending WTA Finals were staged in Singapore in 2014, women’s tennis had never looked deeper. The eight-player field featured a blend of super-champions and rising stars: Serena Williams ...

Serena Williams of the U.S. hits a return against Romania’s Simona Halep during their women’s singles match on day eight of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Jan. 21.

Serena Williams’ coach for a decade, Patrick Mouratoglou, is going to work with another Grand Slam champion and former No. 1, Simona Halep. Mouratoglou announced his partnership with Halep via social ...