Halep outlasts Svitolina in Doha thriller, faces Mertens in final

Tennis - WTA Premier 5 - Qatar Open - Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, Doha, Qatar - February 15, 2019 Romania's Simona Halep celebrates winning her Semi Final match against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina REUTERS/Ibraheem Al Omari

(Reuters) - Top seed Simona Halep came back from 4-1 down in the deciding set to beat Elina Svitolina 6-3 3-6 6-4 in the Qatar Open semi-final on Friday, marking her first victory over the Ukrainian in nearly two years.

Halep made an aggressive start and claimed an early break with a scorching backhand winner to set the tone for the evening.