Watch: Halep shows off incredible defense against Lepchenko

En route to a hard-fought 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 win over American Varvara Lepchenko on Sunday night, Simona Halep once again showed off her incredible defensive abilities.

Courtney Nguyen | Mar 16, 2015

Watch: Halep shows off incredible defense against Lepchenko /

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — En route to a hard-fought 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 win over American Varvara Lepchenko on Sunday night, Simona Halep once again showed off her incredible defensive abilities.

Halep chased down a ball deep to her backhand corner that left her completely out of position. She put up a desperation backhand and virtually gave up the point, running all the way over to her own player box before realizing the ball was going to land in. The lob stunned Lepchenko too, as she put in a soft forehand into what she thought was the open court. The point reset and Halep eventually won it with a deep backhand down the line that earned the error.

Get of the year so far? It has my vote:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOtD4y3uF3Q&feature=youtu.be]

The match was a high-quality affair that saw both women strike some jaw-dropping winners. But the big takeaway from the match: If Halep lofts up a lob, it's probably going to land in:

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ozosIFJLYg]

Published Mar 16, 2015

COURTNEY NGUYEN

Contributor, SI.com Nguyen is a freelance writer for SI.com, providing full coverage of professional tennis both on and off the court. Her content has become a must-read for fans and insiders to stay up-to-date with a sport that rarely rests. She has appeared on radio and TV talk shows all over the world and is one of the co-hosts of No Challenges Remaining, a weekly podcast available on iTunes. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and received a law degree from the University of California, Davis in 2002. She lives in the Bay Area.