TENNIS 2014 ROLAND GARROS – 31st of May 2014. S. Halep d. M. Torro-Flor 6-3, 6-0. AN interview with Simona Halep
Q. Are you surprised that your matches are going so easy for you and that you’re playing well? You seem to be enjoying it. How come. How do you feel about that?
SIMONA HALEP: Thank you. I feel really great now, because I won in two sets also. Third match here where I played really good tennis.
It’s not a surprise, because I’m more confident now in myself, and I feel the ball really good here in French Open.
I love this tournament. I love to be here. Yeah, like you said, I’m enjoying the moment now. It’s my best of my career, and I have to be happy on court and to fight for my chance.
Q. It’s still first week of Roland Garros, a Grand Slam, but at this point you are the highest ranking player remaining in this tournament. How do you feel about that? How do you think it happens?
SIMONA HALEP: Yeah, the first three seeded, they lost. That’s a surprise for everyone.
Is not easy to be the first seeded now during the tournament. But I try just to keep out from me the pressure and just to play every match, because here the Grand Slam every match is difficult.
So is not easy to say that I will play semifinals or finals. I just take day by day and match by match. Next round will be very tough.
I played against her in Australia a few years ago, I think, and she beat me very fast.
Now I think I’m more prepared than that moment, and I will try my best and of course I will fight for win.
Q. You talk a lot about your inner confidence. You’re still young. Your career went very quick. But where do you get your inner confidence from? Is it in the genes? Is it in the family?
SIMONA HALEP: I am not that young (smiling). More players are younger than me now at this level.
So I have more confidence because I have very good team close to me. And also my family, they are always with me. Some are very close friends, family friends. Everybody supporting me.
I feel stronger now than last year, and I started to play more aggressive like I did in juniors at one moment when I won here.
So I found my good way to play, and I found a way to be relaxed on court and just to take the pleasure without pressure. Because, as I said, it’s easier to play without pressure and to take just the pleasure on court.
Q. Romania has a tradition of being a great tennis country in Nastase, Tiriac. How is the support back home? Are they following you now more than before?
SIMONA HALEP: Yeah, always.
Q. Is there a lot of interest in you?
SIMONA HALEP: Yeah, they are supporting me a lot, everybody from Romania. We are a small country, but we are a good country. I love to be there and I love to live there.
Also, Mr. Tiriac is coming to see my matches here also. And in Madrid he helped me a lot with some wildcards in the past.
Nastase, I saw him today. So they are coming and they give me now more advices how to manage this level in tennis.
I want to thank them, because they are close to me, and of course they give me more confidence.
Q. How do you approach every tournament no matter whether it’s a major or a lesser tournament?
SIMONA HALEP: For me, the Grand Slam, it’s different because I feel more pressure here. We have four Grand Slams and four very big tournaments, but now I just started to manage the emotions like every tournament. I don’t want to take this one more different.
I played Madrid, my biggest final, and I felt that here I can take this tournament like in Madrid, because was almost the same.
Is not easy. They are playing better at Grand Slams like Bouchard, also, she did semifinals, great result, also Sloane, she played really well at Grand Slams.
I started to play well now this year, so I hope to improve more at Grand Slams and to go far.
