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TORONTO — Simona Halep didn’t need to check the stats after her match to know the fastest serve Coco Gauff rifled at her during their third-round match, because she checked the video board at Centre Court after the ball was fired her way: It clocked 198 km/hr. 

On Friday afternoon on Centre Court, Halep, the former world No. 1, earned her toughest victory yet at the National Bank Open, fending off Gauff, the 18-year-old American powerhouse, to earn a 6-4, 7-6(2) win in a quarter-final match so full of shot-making and incredible defence that few in the stadium — save for Halep herself, of course — didn’t want it to go three sets.

“She served super strong,” Halep said, after she’d hit the practice court post-match to work on her serve — she had eight double-faults in the win. “And I fought for every point, which it was really important because she’s doing the same thing,” Halep added. “It’s never easy against her.”

A two-time National Bank Open champion, Halep is now into the semi-final, just two wins away from a third title. She’ll face American Jessica Pegula, the No. 7 seed, on Saturday.

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After Halep and Gauff shook hands on Friday, following an hour and 47-minute seesaw battle, fans gave them a standing ovation for the showcase they put on. For many, it was a reminder of how consistent and solid Halep is, and a look into how incredible the teenaged Gauff is, and how good she’ll one day be.

It was the fourth meeting between Gauff, the world No. 11, and Halep, the world No. 15, and it was the closest Gauff has come to beating the veteran Romanian, a two-time Grand Slam champion who won the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon a year later.

“She hits stronger,” Halep said, compared to their first meeting, at Wimbledon in 2019. “I think she improved a lot since we played last time. But as I said at the start, it’s always tough against her. And you never know, because she’s fighting until the end. And actually she doesn’t give you a point. So you have to stay there and fight.”

Halep broke Gauff in the first game, but Gauff immediately got the game back on serve, before Halep struck again to go up 4-3, eventually firing an ace to win the opening set.

Set two is when this match entered highlight-reel status. Gauff was down 3-0 early on thanks mostly to unforced errors, and then she began fighting and hitting more winners than not, and with incredible power. Halep, meanwhile, did an incredible job running many of those shots down, even when Gauff was painting the lines.

When Halep broke Gauff to go up 5-3 in the second set, the Romanian roared at the crowd and pumped her fists.

Halep had two chances to serve for the match, but Gauff kept fighting, on the ropes and earning another chance, to force a tiebreaker. That’s when Halep took control, in part because of Gauff’s unforced errors. On match point, Gauff sent a shot into the net, and Halep yelled and pumped her fist while fans waved Romanian flags.

Earlier this season, Halep said she was nearly done with tennis. And then she began working with Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena Williams’ former coach. “He brought this fire back and the motivation,” she said. “He trusted that I still can play good tennis. And he transferred this to me.” 

Halep’s plan for semi-final Saturday is much the same as it always is, even knowing how solidly Pegula has been playing this season. “But as I always say, I will focus on myself and I will just fight for the match as I did here every time,” she said.  

And, the two-time NBO champion says she’s a different player than the last time she won this tournament four years ago.

“I’m a better player,” she said. “This helps me and gives me confidence to work hard and to look forward for the next tournament. And just to fight for every match I play.”

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The San Diego Padres handed Eric Hosmer a huge eight-year, $144 million contract before the 2018 season.

They probably regretted doing that a year or two into the deal.

He had World Series pedigree after reaching the Fall Classic two years in a row in 2014 and 2015, winning the latter.

However, he was never a truly elite hitter, at least not to the extent that he deserved that kind of pact.

The Padres did it anyway, and only a handful of years after putting ink to paper, they were discussing the possibility of attaching a prospect to Hosmer so any team would take him off their hands.

His career with the Padres ended when the team was able to ship him to the Boston Red Sox on deadline day, a little over a week ago.

WAR Thinks Hosmer Is Barely A Replacement-Level Player

If we look at Hosmer’s Wins Above Replacement (WAR) as a Padre, we understand why the team was so eager to get rid of him and his atrocious contract.

“Jurickson Profar in 106 games this season: 2.7 fWAR. Eric Hosmer’s entire Padres career (596 games): 0.5 fWAR,” baseball writer Nick Lee tweeted.

Jurickson Profar in 106 games this season: 2.7 fWAR

Eric Hosmer's entire Padres career (596 games): 0.5 fWAR

— Nick Lee (@NickLee51) August 11, 2022

Wins Above Replacement, or WAR, is a stat that considers hitting, fielding, and baserunning contributions and results in a single number that evaluates how much a player helps his team in comparison to a “replacement level” player.

A good player usually finishes a season with at least 3 WAR: 5 WAR is star territory, and anything over 6 or 7 WAR means MVP-caliber performance.

In four-and-a-half seasons in San Diego, Hosmer only contributed half a WAR.

His contract was a huge disappointment, and forced the Padres to bring in fellow first baseman Josh Bell at the deadline.

The post Padres Fan Shares Shocking Eric Hosmer Comparison appeared first on The Cold Wire.

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