HALEP: 4TH TIME A CHARM
Stephens rips into the media
AFTER 12 years and innumerable setbacks, Simona Halep has earned the right to play with freedom for the rest of her career.
Pitied as a serial loser, the Romanian exorcised the ghosts of three previous major final defeats with a stunning French Open victory over US Open champion Sloane Stephens.
Ridiculed as a world No.1 with hollow authority, Halep had the last word with a resounding 3-6 6-4 6-1 Roland Garros triumph – claiming January’s Australian Open setback was meant to be.
“Honestly when I was 14, I decided to be a professional tennis player, since then I was dreaming for these moments,” she said.
“I was dreaming to win a grand slam.
“But the most important moment was when I won juniors (in 2008).
“I said that if I will win a grand slam in professional tennis, I want it to be the same one. So I’m really happy that I didn’t win Melbourne, actually, (smiling) and happened here.
“It’s special, and I keep it forever in my heart, for sure. It’s my favourite city.
“Well, it’s an amazing moment. It’s a special moment. I was dreaming for this moment since actually I started to play tennis.
“I always said that if I’m going to win one, I want it to be here.
“It’s real now. Without my family, my friends, all the people that are really special for me in this life, probably I couldn’t come back after losing three finals of grand slams.”
Four years after contesting the first of three losing major deciders, Halep steamed to a 17th career title – and clearly the most significant.
The world No.1 is the first woman to be denied in as many majors before eventually breaking through since Jana Novotna at Wimbledon in PERSISTENT: Romania's Simona Halep poses with her trophy after winning the women's singles final. 1998. Only Kim Clijsters (four) had lost more grand slam deciders before eventually prevailing.
Beaten in French Open play-offs by Maria Sharapova (2014) and Jelena Ostapenko last year, Halep was also denied in January’s Australian Open final by Dane, Caroline Wozniacki.
Only seven women in history have taken longer to triumph at grand slam level, headed by Italian Flavia Pennetta, who took 49 majors before breaking through at the 2015 US Open.
This was Halep’s major tournament.
The 26-year-old’s victory added further gloss to her South Australian coach Darren Cahill’s astonishing record.
Cahill piloted Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi both to grand slam titles and the world No.1 ranking.
Halep collected $3.4 million in victory, while Stephens pocketed $1.8 million. 32nd off court, Sports Illustrated has described her as an ‘anti-diva’.
Simona Halep is the third player Darren Cahill has coached to the world No.1 ranking following Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt and American Andre Agassi.
She is the first person to win her first Grand Slam while ranked as World No.1. SLOANE Stephens took aim at media “haters” on Saturday after reaching the French Open final, claiming she does not receive the respect she deserves.
The 25-year-old said she was proud to have reached the final but hit out over her treatment in the media after her breakthrough US Open triumph last September was followed by a run of eight successive defeats.
Her first win in the tour since New York arrived in February in Acapulco.
“You guys are my biggest haters,” she said Saturday.
“Can I just state for the record that all of you guys in here were tweeting that I had a losing record anywhere except for the United States.
“So I think I have done very well to make the finals of the French Open. So if any of you want to tweet that, I would be very happy, give you guys a like, a retweet or something.
“Because you seem to only want to say, ‘she’s 0 and 8 in the other countries, and blah, blah, blah’. Yeah, it’s you and you and a lot of you (pointing to different members of the media).”
Stephens was a set and a break up on Simona Halep before the Romanian’s greater stamina told in the final.
However, Stephens was quick to praise Halep who went into Saturday’s match having lost three successive finals at the Slams.
“I think she’s had a tough journey. I think winning here is very special for her and I’m glad she finally got her first Slam,” said the American.
Stephens will rise to No.4 in the world after her run to the final in Paris but insisted that the rankings were not a priority.
“It’s great that I’m No.4, but, I mean, the rankings are what they are, and I hope to stay, improve, get better.”