Simona Halep ‘afraid’ of coach after losing focus against ‘dangerous’ Dart

Simona Halep gave her coach Darren Cahill a hard time after she let her Australian Open second round opponent, Harriet Dart, get back from 5-1 in the second set before closing the encounter with 6/2 6/4.

“It was not easy at all, even if she doesn’t hit very strong. She has good angles and her ball doesn’t have that much power to play against and I had to work a little bit more. I was very close to finish at 5-1, I was leading pretty well, but then I don’t know what happened...I lost the focus a little bit and she started actually to play free and she didn’t miss that much anymore. I’m happy that I could hold that last game.” Halep explained at the post-match conference.

In the second set, seeing that her opponent slowly crawls back in the match, Simona had a nervous breakdown. She slapped one of her thighs and yelled at Cahill. Fortunately, Darren forgave most of Simona’s nervous exit because she didn’t lose that precious second set.

However, let’s not forget that Halep pledged to donate $200 every time she yells at her coach.

“He’s counting this stuff. I’m afraid to ask (how much I have to donate). It’s a nice thing to do and I will do it with pleasure. It’s very nice to have him back. Gives me confidence and I’m really happy about my team [...] He told me actually that he cut everything at 50 percent because I won the match, I could finish the second set, so I’m in a good position, but definitely I will donate everything I’ve done today. ” Simona declared after escaping Harriet Dart.

After successfully getting past the British youngster, described by Simona as “a little dangerous”, the Wimbledon champion will meet Yulia Putintseva in the third round of Australian Open.

“I know she’s fighting a lot and she’s very loud on court. I saw some matches of her, but she’s a very nice girl.” Simona said about her next opponent.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/36lLJ78