One of the biggest tournaments in the tennis world, the Australian Open, started on February 8. The 128 players will be fighting it out until February 22, playing match after match on the Melbourne hard courts. Also, the prize fund of this Grand Slam tournament is more than $ 61 million. Who will be the winner and thus take the title of ‘Australian Open-2021 champion’?
The second round: victory despite negativity and talks
A few days ago, world number two Simona Halep won her second-round match. She defeated a court’s mistress Ayla Tomljanovic in a game where she was defeated 2-5 in the deciding set. The final score was: 4:6, 6:4, 7:5 in favour of the Romanian.
In a short interview after the match, Simona said she was very emotional during the game. She said she had too many negative emotions, which interfered with her performance. However, she was able to pull herself together and take the match to victory.
“I was talking the whole match because I had a lot of negative emotions. Afterwards, I talked to the team and apologised to them. Oh yes, also my coach said I looked like the ‘old Simo.’ But I said no, I have changed because this time I fought to the end. So I see it as a big plus: despite all the negativity and talks, I was able to bounce back from that score and win,”
Halep said.
The Romanian also admitted that her team told her she should have played the whole match like a 2:5 game: she relaxed her hands, and the ball went deeper. The athlete herself didn’t notice it. Now she is just happy that everything ended well. Simona has gained the confidence she can still win hard matches.
In the third round, the 2018 finalist had to play Veronika Kudermetova from Russia, ranked 32nd in the world ranking. How did this battle end?
The third round: the joy of a relatively easy win and a better game
In the Australian Open-2021 third round, the Romanian also defeated her opponent. She shared her impressions of the victory in another short interview.
“I played better than in the previous match. I had an idea of how Veronika would play because we trained with her once a few months ago. I’m delighted with the way I played today: I felt the ball better, moved better. It was more difficult to defend against Tomljanovic because she has powerful shots, but Kudermetova plays in a similar style, and I played much better today.”
The Romanian also said the match against Ayla affected her shoulder – it was bothering her at the time. In the second set of the game against the Russian, it was already well because by then, Halep had warmed up properly, and it became easier to hit hard. She states now, overall, everything is fine.
What’s in store for spectators in the fourth round?
The next round promises to be extremely interesting. For a place in the quarter-finals, the 2018 finalist will play Roland Garros champion, Iga Swiatek. Once Simone already opposed the Pole, ultimately losing.
“I will have to do a lot of things differently than I did in that match. I didn’t have time to feel anything then – she played so fast and hard. But I won’t think back on that match – I’ll just discuss the plan with my team and concentrate on myself like I always do. If I show my best tennis, I will have a chance to win,”
Simona said.
Conclusion
Only time will tell how the Romanian will progress on the tournament draw. All we can wish for her health and positive emotions, which will help her perform at her best on the Australian courts.