Former French Open Doubles champion Ion Tiriac has claimed women’s No. 1 Simona Halep is like ATP No. 1 Rafael Nadal whenever she is competing on a tennis court.
Tiriac, the men’s doubles champion at Roland Garros in 1970, reckons both Halep and Nadal are ‘willing to die’ for each and every point in a contest and that’s what makes it so difficult to beat them.
Halep secured her maiden Grand Slam trophy after defeating US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the final of the French Open on Saturday. The WTA No. 1 bounced back from a set down against the American as she finally broke her duck at the Majors after a series of disappointments when she lost her previous three Slam finals, the most recent being the Australian Open final to Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki earlier in the year.
On the other hand, Nadal lifted a record extending 11th French Open and a 17th Grand Slam trophy on Sunday, dismantling Austrian Dominic Thiem in straight sets to further boost his credentials as the most successful player ever on the red dirt.
“Halep is capable of losing in the first round and she is capable of winning it,” Tiriac said.
“She often played badly here and she still won.
“A big part of her is that she will die on the court if she has to, a bit like Rafael Nadal.”
Nadal’s success on clay has earned him the epithet of the King of Clay, while Halep will be hoping to become at least the Princess, if not the Queen of the surface in the years to come.
“It’s a special moment. I was dreaming for this moment since actually I started to play tennis,” Halep said after winning the title in Paris.
“It’s my favourite Grand Slam. I always said that if I’m going to win one, I want it to be here.
“It’s real now, so, yeah, my family was all the time supporting me since I started to play tennis, also all the coaches and all the people that I have worked during this 20 years.
“Thanks to them, because it’s tough to keep working every day at the highest level.
“All the friends, all the people that are really special for me in this life. Without them probably I couldn’t, you know, come back after losing three finals of Grand Slam.
“But now I want just to forget everything and just enjoying this moment because it’s really special.”
