Simona Halep began the French Open as a heavy favorite, but her tournament ended in heavy conditions and with heavier disappointment.
“It was impossible to play, in my opinion,” she said after her fourth round loss to Samantha Stosur. “And to play tennis matches during the rain, I think it’s a bit too much.”
The Romanian had been in control of the match before an 18-hour washout forced her and her Aussie opposition onto a drizzling court that her feeling pain in her back and Achilles. And those were just the physical effects.
“I was far to think about the title, but I think that I had a chance. If the courts are dry here I have a chance, because I like the conditions when it’s normal weather.
“In Madrid was different. That’s why I played so well. I like those conditions.”
From her press conference, it was clear that she felt robbed of a golden opportunity at what has been her most successful Grand Slam tournament. But the former World No.2 is hardly a clay court specialist.
Two weeks after narrowly losing to Maria Sharapova in the 2014 French Open final, the Romanian shrugged off the disappointment and channeled it into her best-ever Wimbledon result. In her first quarterfinal at the All England Club, she dismantled former finalist Sabine Lisicki before disaster struck against Eugenie Bouchard.
Up a break in the opening set, Halep took a heavy turn on her ankle, eventually fading in two sets and missing out on the chance to play Petra Kvitova – a player she had never lost to – for Wimbledon glory.
“It was difficult to continue because I twisted my ankle and it was very hard,” she said at the time. “I felt a big pain in the moment, and I couldn’t push anymore in my leg. My first serve was really bad after that. Yeah, it was difficult to continue.”
This year, Halep has shown steady improvements after a slow start to the season, but injury concerns in the form of a persistent Achilles injury ruled her out of the Aegon Classic.
“I started to feel it since I came here,” she said at the start of last week. “I have some fluid inside the tendon so the doctor says that I have to rest for a few days. It’s nothing serious but it’s a bit sore. I have almost two weeks to recover before Wimbledon so I will take a few days rest and then some treatment and then start to play again.
“This was my first tournament on grass and it was important to have some matches but I cannot change things. It’s important to take care of my body.”
Under the tutelage of reknowned coach Darren Cahill, Halep has been eager to match and surpass the heights she hit in her peak 2014 season. But while she won many matches throughout that auspicious year, she also prioritized her health above all other committments, frequently amending her schedule to ensure she was ready to perform on the game’s biggest stages.
Disappointed as she was to have left Paris without the trophy, the Romanian won’t feel her form cost her the chance. Taking the time to reset her body and mind ahead of what promises to be a stressful time of year may be the best decision the former semifinalist could have made. Fit and ready to wade past the undertow of uncertainty that cut her campaign short one year ago, Halep will be keen to ensure her preparation meets opportunity at Wimbledon.
Click here to read more about this year’s Wimbledon Contenders, courtesy of WTA Insider.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
