Holder Halep wary of Sabalenka threat in Rome
ROME: Defending Rome champion Simona Halep said on Sunday she had not been surprised by Aryna Sabalenka’s success at the Madrid Open, and was expecting the Belarusian to challenge again on clay in Italy.
Seventh-ranked Sabalenka stunned world number one Ashleigh Barty to win in Madrid on Saturday for the biggest title of her career. “It’s not surprising,” said Halep. “She’s playing great. Very powerful tennis. She has confidence. She can actually do a lot in Grand Slams also, so she’s geting closer to that.
“She played the final in Stutgart, so it’s not the first result on clay.
“She’s playing really well. Yeah, I think her confidence is very high. I was not surprised, and I’m expecting actually more from her.”
Halep will open her title defence in the second round against either Germany’s Angelique Kerber or French qualifier Alize Cornet.
The world number three is not in the same half of the draw as Sabalenka, who could meet Barty again in the quarter-finals at the Foro Italico.
But ex-wimbledon and French Open champion Halep could play former four-time Rome winner Serena Williams or world number two Naomi Osaka in the semi-finals.
“I have no expectations and no pressure about defending my title,” continued Halep, who exited in Madrid in the last 16 to Belgian Elise Mertens.
“I don’t really have regrets about that. But I can say I need to calm down a litle bit, change atitude, not rushing that much and to stop missing in the important moments.
“But those things I think are coming with more matches, so I’m just looking forward to have as many as possible until French Open.
“This tournament is going to be important and taking the pressure away.”
Halep finished runner-up in 2017 and 2018 before winning last year, with the tournament pushed back to September because of coronavirus.
OSAKA FRUSTRATED : Naomi Osaka conceded she found playing outside her comfort zone on clay frustrating as the world number two continues her warm-up for the French Open at the WTA tournament in Rome.
Osaka has never won a tour-level event on the red dirt while at the French Open, which starts on May 30, she is yet to make it past the third round.
The Japanese four-time Grand Slam champion was dumped out of the Madrid Open in the second round last week, having taken almost a month off following her quarter-final exit in Miami.
“I’m not sure if I should be telling you this, but I’m just not that comfortable on it (clay) still, and I’m not sure if it’s because I need to play longer on it or if I just haven’t grown up on it,” Osaka told a press conference in Rome on Sunday.
Osaka has played just two matches on clay since the 2019 French Open having skipped last year’s Grand Slam because of injury.
“Mentally it’s a bit harder because you have to structure the points differently,” she continued.
“There are bad bounces and stuff. I get quite frustrated. So, yeah, mentally I think it’s a bit more taxing.
“But I think as soon as I get that sort of block out of my mind, then I’ll be more open to the mistakes.”