after reaching the main draw through qualifying. After losing in qualifying at Wimbledon, Halep made her top 100 debut in July following a semifinal at the $100K Open de Biarritz. With her rise in the rankings, she was directly accepted into a Grand Slam main draw for the first time at the US Open, where she was drawn against No. 4, Jelena Janković, another top-ten opponent. Unlike at the French Open, Halep won the second set and had a chance to serve for the match at 5–4 in the third, but ultimately lost that game and the match, which lasted two hours and twenty minutes in severe heat. Halep's best result of the year after the US Open was a final at the $100K Torhout Ladies Open, which helped her finish the season with a year-end ranking of No. 81 in the world. 2011–12: Steady ranking, top 50 Halep played almost exclusively WTA Tour events in 2011. She won her first career Grand Slam matches at the Australian Open, defeating Anne Kremer and No. 23 Alisa Kleybanova to reach the third round. During the clay court season, Halep defended her runner-up finish at the Morocco Open from the previous year, again losing in the final, this time to Alberta Brianti. Nonetheless, she struggled in the other clay court tournaments, only recording one more match win, which came in the opening round at the 2011 French Open. She also reached the second round at Wimbledon, losing in three sets to seventh-seed and defending champion Serena Williams. At the 2012 Olympics, she competed in the women's singles, losing in the first round, and the women's doubles, with Sorana Cîrstea, also losing in the first round. During the US Open Series, Halep qualified for the Rogers Cup and recorded her first top 20 victory against No. 15 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round. At the US Open, Halep then recorded her first top 10 victory over No. 6 Li Na in her opening match, despite playing with an ankle sprain she suffered at the Rogers Cup. Despite a loss to Carla Suárez Navarro in the next round, this result put Halep in the top 50 for the first time. She finished the year at No. 47 in the world. Halep maintained a steady ranking throughout 2012, rising no higher than No. 37, falling no lower than No. 63, and finishing the year at