“Not Very, Very Far”: Simona Halep Sends Out Ominous Message to Rivals Ahead of Australian Open 2021

Women’s World Number 2 Simona Halep has said that she is not too far from landing her maiden Australian Open title.

The Romanian tennis star tasted Grand Slam glory at the French Open and Wimbledon but hasn’t managed to lift the trophy at Melbourne Park as yet. The closest she came to winning the championship Down Under was in 2018 when she reached the final. However, the Romanian came up short in the title showdown against former Dane tennis star Caroline Wozniacki.

Simona Halep and her performances at the Australian Open

Last year, Halep reached the semi-final, raising visions of winning her first Australian Open title. But she went down to eventual losing finalist Garbine Muguruza in the last-four tie.

Speaking on a podcast ahead of the year’s first Grand Slam, Halep said that she is aware that it’s about taking one step further to where she has reached previously in the tournament and is hopeful that it will happen this year.

The 2018 French Open champion said she can derive a lot of “confidence” from where her game is at right now and is “not very, very far” from winning the tournament.

“I have to trust that I’m there and have the possibility to win the tournament,” the former World Number 1 said.

Halep underlines quarantine challenge in Adelaide

Underlining the importance of working hard and keeping the faith, Halep said that as long as she keeps fighting, she will be in with a chance to win titles more often than not.

On her quarantine experience in Adelaide, the 2019 Wimbledon champion said, “It’s not easy because we have to stay only in the room and we have just four hours to go to the (practice) court and train.”

However, she added that she does not train for more than two hours and uses the remaining two to “enjoy her room”.

Read More: Simona Halep Achieves Unique Tennis Record that Even Serena Williams Couldn’t Match

In keeping with a directive issued by the government of Victoria to make sure that the designated hotels in Melbourne aren’t overbooked, Tennis Australia decided to host the top-three men and women players in the South Australian city of Adelaide instead.