Halep admits that dressing down from coach was key turning point

SIMONA HALEP reinforced her status as the favourite for this most open of tournaments as she cruised into the second week of the French Open without dropping a set.

After winning nine of the first 10 games, Halep survived a late fightback from rising Russian star Daria Kasatkina to win 6-0, 7-5 and reach the last 16.

With Serena Williams pregnant, Victoria Azarenka on maternity leave and Maria Sharapova denied a wildcard, there is now a

chance for someone to step up out of the chasing pack.

Halep determinedly refuses the ‘favourite’ tag, but the No3 seed’s class and clay court expertise set her apart. The 25-year-old Romanian hits with relentless consistency and quality off both sides, and covers the court as well as anyone in the women’s game.

Too often, however, she has faltered at the vital moment, letting close matches slip through her fingers.

But yesterday, when the match shifted on to a knife-edge as 20-year-old Kasatkina went from 3-1 down to 5-3 up in the second set, Halep held her nerve, saving four set points and wrapping up the win.

And she admitted that a tense exchange with coach Darren Cahill in Miami in March has been a turning point. After losing the second set to Britain’s Johanna Konta to take their Miami Open quarterfinal into a decider, Halep summoned her coach on to the court.

There followed a tense exchange in which Cahill told her: ‘You have an opportunity to make a difference. You’ve been in this position many times before and most times, you’re coming out second best. Right now you have an opportunity to change things.’

She lost but has won 17 out of the last 19 matches since Miami. Asked yesterday whether Miami had been a turning point, she said: ‘Definitely. This is the most important thing that he [Cahill] told me after Miami was to change the attitude.’