Simona Halep beats Madison Keys to win Rogers Cup

Fifth-seeded Simona Halep fought off the heavy hitting of American Madison Keys to produce a 7-6 (2), 6-3 victory on Sunday in the championship match of the Rogers Cup at Montreal.

Halep was forced into a tiebreaker to win the first set before claiming the first six points of the second set to finish off the 10th-seeded Keys.

"I'm happy I could win," the 24-year-old Romanian said afterward. "I feel tired. I feel like I have no more power. But it's a nice feeling and I gave everything to win."

The victory marked Halep's 10th consecutive winning watch. She has won three titles this season and 14 in her career.

Halep finished off the match in 76 minutes with a strategy of keeping the ball in play and waiting on the 21-year-old Keys to make hitting errors with her forceful shots.

"She hits very strong," Halep said. "It's very tough to defend her balls. But I knew I had to be strong with my legs.

"In the end, I just wanted to be solid. I did it and I thought it's a great win for me. She's a very good player."