Top 5 Indian Wells Finals, No. 5: Simona Halep d. Jelena Jankovic, 2015

This week, we're counting down the Top 5 Indian Wells finals (look for the Top 5 Miami finals soon!)

• No. 5: Simona Halep d. Jelena Jankovic, 2015
• No. 4: Dominic Thiem d. Roger Federer, 2019
• No. 3: Novak Djokovic d. Rafael Nadal, 2011
• No. 2: Rafael Nadal d. Juan Martin del Potro, 2013
• No. 1: Serena Williams d. Steffi Graf, 1999

With Simona Halep cleared to play again, it seems like a good time to look back at what made the self-described “Fighter Girl” a Top 10 stalwart, and entertainingly fiery competitor, for so long.

The Romanian has generally thrived on North American hard courts, winning three times in Canada and reaching the final three times in Cincinnati. She has only triumphed once during the Sunshine Swing, in 2015 at Indian Wells, but she did it in memorable fashion. Her three-set win over Jelena Jankovic was a both a dramatic comeback and a marathon test of will and stamina. It was also her biggest title up to that point, and one that helped her finish the season at No. 2 for the first time.

Halep had a good idea of what she was in for against Jankovic. Both women won with consistency and counterpunching, both liked to run, and neither had a big serve or knockout power from the ground.

“I played many matches against her, and every one was really difficult,” said Halep, who was 3-1 against Jankovic to that point. “I know I have to run a lot, to hit the balls strong, and to be aggressive.”

She was right, but she may have underestimated how much of all of those things she would need to do. The match began like their others, with long, see-saw rallies, and long, multi-deuce games. But this time it was Jankovic who controlled more of those early points. Each woman specialized in the down-the-line backhand, but it was Jankovic’s that was clicking in the early going.

Jankovic won five straight games to close out the first set. When she went up a break in the second, the title looked to be hers. She would serve for the match at 5-4 and reach 30-30, two points from victory.

On the other side of the net, though, Halep had been gaining ground, and slowly finding her form, as the second set progressed. With Jankovic serving at 4-3, Halep broke serve with her own down-the-line backhand winner, then celebrated—for the first time that day—in her customary style, with a hop, a skip, and an extended fist-pump. Two games later, Halep would catch Jankovic just before the finish line, breaking her for 5-5, and then breaking her again for the set.

To her credit, Jankovic didn’t cave in the third. The score was just as close, and the rallies just as complex and grueling, as they were in the first two sets. But again, Jankovic’s serve deserted her when she needed it, and Halep took advantage. This time she broke at 5-4 for the title. After the final point, Halep twirled in delight, while Jankovic stood with her hands on her hips, wondering how she had managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

“I won that first set 6‑2,” Jankovic said. “I was up a break, and in the second I put myself in the position to win the match, to serve it out, and I think at the end of the second set I got a little bit nervous. I got a little bit tentative, and that was my big mistake.”

As for Halep, her post-match reaction could serve as a slogan for her career.

“I just wanted to fight until the end because I think that’s the most important thing for my style, for myself,” the 23-year-old said.

It would be another three years before Halep would win a major. But this was a confidence-building step in that direction.