The US Open is the Grand Slam tournament in which Simona Halep has the worst record of any major tournament. Mats Wilander (former world leader and winner of seven GS) believes that our athlete has a real chance to make a statement at Flushing Meadows if she is in the mood for Wimbledon 2022.

In New York, Simone reached the semifinals of the 2015 edition of the competition, where she was defeated by Flavia Pennetta (she would go on to win the tournament after a final with compatriot Roberta Vinci). In 2016, he also reached the quarterfinals.

Simona Halep, a defensive player for most of her career, takes more risks with Patrick Muratoglu

Mats Wilander welcomes the changes Simona Halep is trying with Patrick Muratoglu. The Eurosport analyst believes that our athlete needed to make some changes to her game.

“Symona has the power to win any tournament. She works on power (no hitting) and serving with Patrick (no Muratoglu).

The easy part is trying to find solutions to hit harder and do more with the ball. But the hardest thing is to get to the point where you believe that this is how you should play.

I say this because she has had so much success playing more defensively at times, but still winning tournaments and beating the best players in the world.

Things have changed a bit, and she’s realized, or thinks, that’s what she needs to do to win Grand Slams: take more risks. Of course, we don’t know if that’s what he really needs to do, maybe consistency will bring him big titles in the future.” – Mats Wilander for HotNews.ro.

Wilander impressed with Simona Halep’s position at Wimbledon 2022 – expects the same at the US Open

As an analyst for Eurosport, Wilander had the opportunity to speak with Simona during Wimbledon. The Swede was impressed by Halep’s attitude and expects something similar at the US Open.

“As a former tennis player, I pay more attention to how Simona developed as an athlete, and not necessarily to how her good results multiplied.

Results don’t necessarily come when you serve better or hit the ball harder. I looked into Simona’s eyes during Wimbledon (this year’s tournament, where Halep reached the semifinals), when I interviewed her, and I felt a lot of emotions, passion.

She is excited about every day of training with Patrick Muratoglu, she is happy about the improvement in his game. If you don’t feel that emotion, you can’t move forward in your work.

I’m sure he’ll have the same piercing gaze at the US Open. If Simona thinks she can win more Grand Slams, I think she can too.” – Mats Wilander, for HotNews.ro.

The difference between Darren Cahill and Patrick Muratoglou

In her career, Simona Halep worked with some of the most famous WTA coaches: Darren Cahill and Patrick Muratoglu.

Wilander believes that Darren and Patrick are two characters who have very little in common, two coaches who cannot be confused.

“The difference is I think Darren was trying to take Simona to a new level in terms of the concept of winning.

On the other hand, this is a big difference from what Patrick Muratoglu tried to do – to bring Simona to a new level of the game.

The two are so different that they cannot be confused (neither Cahill nor Muratoglu).

With Darren, Simone realized she had the potential to win at the highest level. He made her understand what success is, what the taste of victory is. From my point of view, Simone is very similar in style to Andy Murray.

Darren tried to make Simone stronger emotionally from the beginning. He knew that he had the game, that he had a very good level of understanding, that he had strong legs and that he had what it took to win Grand Slams.

Less in terms of managing emotions: being stable every day, at every point, as it should be. And yes, Darren took her there.

Patrick now realized that he had everything, but he still needed a new weapon. I’m not talking about new shots here, I’m talking about the fact that he needs at least a 5% improvement in percentage: a stronger serve, a rougher and stronger forehand, maybe playing a meter closer to the baseline (no bottom line).

These things are so hard to change (in an already mature athlete), but it has to start with being aware of these things and wanting to work on whatever changes they (Patrick and Simone) think he needs.

I don’t know if she really needs these adjustments or not, but it’s great that she’s willing to take that risk.” – Mats Wilander, Eurosport expert, for HotNews.ro.

* The interview with Mats Wilander was made possible thanks to the help of Eurosport, to whom we thank.

US Open 2022 will be held from August 29 to September 11, and the most important matches from Flushing Meadows will be LiveText on HotNews.ro.

Who is Mats Wilander?

At the age of 58 (he turned 22 on August 22), Mats Wilander climbed to the top of the ATP rankings on September 12, 1988.

During his career, he won 33 titles, including 7 Grand Slam titles (Australian Open 1983, 1984, 1988), Roland Garros (1982, 1985, 1989) and US Open (1988). He has collected $7,976,256 in tennis prize money.