4.Being a loser was a good thing
So how did the Romanian defeat Williams? Going into the match, she trailed their head-to-head 1-9. Scoring her sole win back in 2015 in the round-robin stages of the WTA Finals.
Reflecting on her latest accomplishment, the 27-year-old partly attributes her success to her own misfortunes of the past. Halep lost in three consecutive grand slam finals before lifting her first title.
“The finals I lost in the past helped me to be different when I face this moment. It’s never easy to face a Grand Slam final. You can get intimidated by the moment. You can get nervous, too nervous.” She explained.
“I have learned that it’s a normal match, not thinking that much about the trophy, just going there and try to be the best as you can. So I did that. I said that every time I would play a final of Grand Slam, I will do exactly the same thing. So today I did it.”
Halep in grand slam finals
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2014 | French Open | Clay | Maria Sharapova | 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 4–6 |
| Loss | 2017 | French Open | Clay | Jeļena Ostapenko | 6–4, 4–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 2018 | Australian Open | Hard | Caroline Wozniacki | 6–7(2–7), 6–3, 4–6 |
| Win | 2018 | French Open | Clay | Sloane Stephens | 3–6, 6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 2019 | Wimbledon | Grass | Serena Williams | 6–2, 6–2 |
