Once again Simona Halep is leaving a grand slam tournament thinking about what could have been for the 25-year-old.
As the highest seed left in the draw on Tuesday, Halep knew a win on Centre Court would make her the first Roman world No.1 in the history of women’s tennis. The dream failed to occur as she was tamed in three sets by home favourite Johanna Konta in an epic clash. It was a all too familiar scenario for the world No.2, who was also denied the top position at the French Open following her loss to Jelena Ostapenko.
“I’m really pleased with my performance.” Said Halep. “Of course, one of my goals is to get to No. 1. But I had another chance here. I was close, I could say. But doesn’t affect me that much because I think I have many years ahead. So maybe I will have more chances. I’m close, so I have just to keep working.”
There is some consolation for the two-time grand slam finalist, who didn’t exit SW19 without a fight. Against Konta she produced just nine unforced errors throughout the two-and-a-half hour encounter. Halep believes the difference between the two was her inability to be ‘stronger’ during certain points. An almost identical perspective to the one she said after her loss to Ostapenko. At the time, she admitted to lacking aggression in the match.
“I think was a great tennis. Both of us played a good level. I was very close, again. In the tiebreak maybe I could serve better and stronger, a little bit.” The Romanian evaluated.
“I think everything was okay. Many positives from this match. And she played really well, so she deserves to win.” She added.
The incidents
Halep’s exit from the tournament wasn’t one without controversy. In a somewhat unfortunate situation, on match point a loud scream from the crowd disrupted her rhythm and resulted in her producing an error. Despite the untimely incident, nothing could be done by the umpire and Konta clinched the match.
‘I thought he’s going to repeat the point, she said. ‘I think it’s normal to repeat the point when someone is screaming like that.
‘He said, “We cannot replay. I cannot change anything.” So why I should fight?’
Earlier in the encounter, Halep was bemused by Konta’s toilet break after the completion of the second set. Her problem wasn’t with the Brit answering a call of nature, but how long it took her.
“I don’t believe that (the toilet break) was only four minutes. But she does that all the time. I cannot change because there is no rule. I understood from the umpire.” She commented.
Pliskova’s rise to the top
Instead of Halep, Karolina Pliskova has become the new world No.1. She is the first Czech-born player to top the world rankings whilst representing her country. Martina Navratilova’s 332-week stint at world No.1 occurred after she switched nationalities to America.
Pliskova’s rise is one that has been praised by Halep, who currently leads their head-to-head 5-2.
“She’s playing really well. This year she has already won a few titles. I feel she deserves to be there. She has the best serve, I think, after Serena. So well done to her. She played really well this year. I think she’s happy now.” She said in a tribute to Pliskova.
Halep concludes her grass-court season with a win-loss of 6-2.
