Simona Halep said, after losing the match against Paula Badosa, that she was happy to be supported by so many people, but that she is not at her best physically.
“Paula was a very good opponent, with a high level of tennis, I was happy with my presence on the court, with the fact that so many people support me. It was a special day. I'm glad that there were many Romanians in the stands, I always feel like I'm playing at home, they were loud in a good way and they help me. It was family, but also close friends with me. After the first five points I lost I was very nervous, I knew it was going to be hard, I didn't know what to expect, but slowly I got into my rhythm, I won the first game and I said to myself: come on, it's not that bad, it'll be fine, I knew it would be hard, but in the end it was good. I always said that even though you train a lot, it's not like an official match, but I've been keeping fit by training in the gym, I haven't played much tennis in the last month, I haven't gained any weight, so it was a good thing”, said Simona Halep.
Simona Halep is back in competitions Arhivă Adevărul
The great athlete admitted that she is not at her best physical level. “Of course, I'm not at the best physical level, but I feel good, the work in the gym every day helped me. I didn't have any plans, I waited for the decision, coming here was for the love of tennis. It was quick, it's too early to talk about future plans, I'm going home, I need to train more, the level is very high these days. Tennis is very strong these days, I didn't know how I was going to do, but it was pretty good for the first match, we'll see”said Halep, at the press conference after the match.
She said she met coach Patrick Mouratoglou, whom she greeted: “I saw Mouratoglou two days ago, I wish him success with Rune, but I'm done working with him, but yes, we said hello, I say hello to everyone, I don't hold grudges, I don't have hatred”.
Wednesday's match in Miami, lost in three sets, 6-1, 4-6, 3-6, was the first match played by Simona Halep after 569 days, being suspended, initially for four years, because she was detected positive for roxadustat.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport announced, on March 5, the reduction of Simona Halep's suspension from four years to nine months. According to TAS, the Romanian's suspension period expired on July 6, 2023, i.e. approximately eight months ago, so the former WTA leader can now return to competitions.
