In her first major quarter-final in Australia in January this year, Simona Halep admits she was nervous and couldn’t play her game.
But in the last eight in Paris, the Romanian world No4 was fearless as she took out former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach her maiden Grand Slam semi-final.
It’s not surprising Halep quickly learned how to handle the pressure considering her rise in the rankings has been just as rapid.
This time last year, the 22-yearold hadn’t won a single title on tour. Now she owns eight titles and is the highest seed left in the draw.
She beat Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-2 in 79 minutes, in a match that started in the rain but ended with the sun shining brightly on an elated Halep.
“I felt very well on court. It was a perfect day for me. I played really well. I was very aggressive. I played very fast. So it was a good match,and I’m really happy that now I can play semi-finals in Paris.
“Everybody was with me, so it was amazing on court. (In Australia) I didn’t know how to manage the emotions. I was very nervous on court and I couldn’t play my game. I couldn’t run the balls and I couldn’t hit.
“Now I was very relaxed. It was tough because I had to wait a few hours to play because of the rain, but still it was a perfect day.”
Halep broke Kuznetsova in the opening game and saved a break point in game two to go up 2-0.
Kuznetsova broke back in the fourth game but Halep was unfazed and edged ahead once again and she took the set when the Russian's backhand sailed long.
Halep sealed a double-break to lead 4-1 before Kuznetsova got one of the breaks back but it wasn’t enough to stop the Romanian, who broke in the seventh game and eased home to book her place in the last four.
