"Patrick Mouratoglou made Serena better than before & it has put him in the top tier"- Simona Halep on working with the French coach
Simona Halep recently spoke to Tennis Majors about her new coaching partnership with Patrick Mouratoglou, the long-time coach of Serena Williams. Williams, who is currently on an injury-induced hiatus, apparently agreed to let Mouratoglou work with another player after much deliberation.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion won 10 Major titles whilst working with Mouratoglou, and Halep believes the renowned coach can help her improve her own game.
"Patrick made Serena better than she was before and it has put him in the top tier of coaches," Halep said. "I didn’t really know him before this year. We never talked and I didn’t have a feeling of how he is, but I saw that he has a strong personality and he’s pretty hard as a coach. So I thought he’s a good match for me and that’s why I’m here."
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Halep pointed out that she wishes to be more offensive on court and would work towards achieving that under Mouratoglou's guidance.
"I would like to get stronger in the body, because to be offensive and to be close to the baseline, to play with the big hitters is not easy," Halep said. "So you have to be strong on the body. I will work on that, but also to open the court to use some angles a little bit better than before and actually to take the ball early. So that’s the goal in our vision.”
The two-time Major winner, whose 2021 season was riddled with injuries, disclosed that she lacked adequate confidence before the Australian Open earlier this year. She admitted, however, that her semi-final runs in Dubai and Indian Wells helped boost her confidence.
"My confidence was very low before Australia,” Halep said. “And then I played those few matches at the Australian Open and after that I won some good matches, with Jabeur (in Dubai), the first top ten player I played this year. I feel like I’m working okay now, the confidence is going higher. Also I need some more practice hours on court and then probably I will feel much better.”
"Maybe Mouratoglou can help me win a Grand Slam on hardcourt" - Simona Halep
Simona Halep, who spent more than seven years inside the top 10 until last August, said she aims to climb the rankings ladder this season. She also expressed her desire to win a Grand Slam title on hardcourt and believes Patrick Mouratoglou can provide her with the right push in that respect.
The 30-year-old came close to winning a Major on the surface at the 2018 Australian Open, where she lost to Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki in the final.
"I asked to work with Patrick because I really wanted to get back to the top, and I felt he’s the best person to help me to do that," the Romanian said. "I’ve won tournaments on hard courts, but I couldn’t win a Grand Slam yet, so I probably have to do something extra to win a Grand Slam there. Maybe he can help me win a Slam on hard court. It would be super, super nice to have that also in my career.”
Simona Halep will be seen in action at the Madrid Open, which begins on April 28.
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