Refocused Halep is fully motivated for title bid

PAULNEWMANIN NEWYORK

WHAT a difference a year can make. Simona Halep will start the US Open here today as the world No1 and as a reigning Grand Slam champion following her triumph at this summer’s French Open, which is quite a contrast compared with her situation 12 months ago.

At last year’s US Open, Halep’s defeat to Maria Sharapova in the first round was the latest in a succession of setbacks for the Romanian. It followed three losses in matches in which victory would have taken her to the top of the world rankings for the first time, while her early exit condemned her to another year without a Grand Slam title.

Barely a month after that loss to Sharapova, however, Halep finally claimed the world No1 position. By this summer she had also achieved her greatest ambition by winning a Grand Slam title. Her victory at Roland-Garros in June followed defeats in all three of her previous Grand Slam finals.

Becoming world No1, particularly when you have not won a Grand Slam title, can weigh heavily on the shoulders of some players. Halep, however, has not looked back since going to the top of the ladder last autumn, even if she suffered another disappointment at Grand Slam level when she lost in the final of this year’s Australian Open to Caroline Wozniacki in January.

“I feel more confident,” Halep said. “I feel that everything I dreamed of became reality. I feel like nothing is on my shoulders any more. But I’m still very motivated and I feel like I have a big chance to achieve more.”

Halep has held the No1 spot for all but four weeks since last October. She currently leads second-placed Caroline Wozniacki by more than 2,000 points. As the 26-year-old Romanian has no points to defend here, the next fortnight offers a good chance to extend her lead.

“It’s going to be nice if I can do a good result here,” Halep said. “Maybe my goal is to see if I can finish No 1 again this year, but I’m pretty relaxed about it.”