World No. 1 Simona Halep’s coach, Darren Cahill reckons the Romanian will make her Major breakthrough in 2018.
Cahill, who has turned around the sagging careers of former No. 1s Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, Ana Ivanovic and Andre Agassi in the past, insists that Halep can become a Grand Slam champion if she stays fully fit and can get a little more aggressive during the crunch moments of big matches during the Majors.
Halep was extremely close to breaking her duck at the Slams in 2017 when she led eventual champion Jelena Ostapenko by a set and 3-0 in the Roland Garros final. However, she let the opportunity slip away from her hands as the Latvian youngster began to dictate the terms of play with her aggressive strokes.
Halep, who is known for her counter-punching was unable to find answers to the heavy barrage of winners coming from Ostapenko’s racquet, allowing her to make a spectacular comeback. With her victory over Halep, Ostapenko became the first unseeded female player to win the French Open since Britain’s Margaret Scriven in 1933.
Cahill though predicts that Halep, who also lost to Maria Sharapova in the 2014 French Open final, has her best chance of winning a Major in Paris.
“You can’t be No 1 in the world and reach finals in a Major without the capability of winning a Major. It’s a matter of continuing the hard work and doing the right things day by day and putting yourself in a good position,” said the 52-year-old.
“Whereas she had some injuries and health problems in the past, this year she is 100 per cent fit and healthy. Fingers crossed she stays like that. She’s playing well and ready to go,” Cahill said.
“She has to be brave in the big moment and play the match with no regrets on her terms. I’m very confident and I have a great belief that she’s capable of doing it. Now it’s a matter of her thinking the same way,” added the Australian.
“She plays well on grass and is a good hard-court player. In the course of two weeks, she is capable of winning any of the Majors,” he said.
