"I trust Patrick Mouratoglou 100%" admits Simona Halep
WTA
Simona Halep will compete in her second tournament, the 2022 Italian Open in Rome, under her new coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, and she spoke about his appointment.
After winning three matches in Madrid before losing to eventual champion Ons Jabeur, the Romanian player turned her attention to the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome.
In the first round of the competition, she will play against Alize Cornet, who has beaten her four times in five meetings, including one time on clay.
Naturally, the 2020 champion was happy to return to Rome, as it's a tournament that created plenty of good memories for her.
"It’s great to be back in Rome because I love this place and I always played well. Preparation was good. Every day I’m working hard. I feel ready. But every tournament is different. I’m looking forward just to start it and to give my best."
Halep's 2022 has been far from ideal now, but she's aware of the progress that she's made, and as such, has a desire to continue working on her game.
"I can say that some matches I could have won. But, you know, I’m coming after a tough year last year, so I will take only the good matches that I played."
"Even if I lost them, I really think I played a good tennis. But the most important thing is that I saw I can reach again high level in tennis. That brings me a lot of positive and desire to keep working and to see if I can be in the top again. This is the main goal now."
Helping her with the ultimate goal of reaching her top level again is Patrick Mouratoglou, who previously worked with the likes of Serena Williams.
The French coach should help Halep improve and become the feared player, who regularly challenged for the World No. 1 spot, again.
"Also the way I look at what I’m doing, what we are doing. So many changes. I need a little bit of time to adjust myself. But I’m good. I feel good on court."
"The most important thing is that I love what I’m doing. This feeling helps me to wake up in the morning and to give my best every time I step on the court. In practice, as well."
One of the most important aspects of every relationship is trust, and the former World No. 1 player admitted that she trusted Mouratoglou since they started working together.
"I trusted him 100% since the first moment. What he’s telling me actually I accepted it because I know it’s good for me. He knows better in this position because I was super down with myself, low confidence."
"So I trust him 100% and I’m doing super easy what he’s saying. Actually I feel good. I have no problems with that. But always it’s tough when you change a team. So I need a little bit of time."
