CINCINNATI -- Serena Williams got her name on the Rookwood trophy for the second time on Sunday, beating Simona Halep 6-4, 7-6 (5) for back-to-back Cincinnati titles. She heads into the U.S. Open trying to become the first player since Steffi Graf in 1988 to pull off a calendar Grand Slam sweep.
"I'm ready," Williams said. "I don't care if I win or lose or break even. I'm ready to start it, get it over with, and be done and go on to the next event. But I'm so ready for New York. Let's go, right?"
It took Williams six tries before she got her first title.
Halep was the runner-up at Toronto a week earlier and was hoping to beat Williams for the second time in less than a year -- she upset her at the WTA Finals in October. Halep broke Williams' serve to open the match, but couldn't sustain it.
Williams won four of the last six points in the tiebreaker, winning it when Halep sliced a backhand shot into the net. And then, the talk about the Grand Slam sweep began.
"I know you can do four," Halep told her during the trophy presentation.
