Simona Halep remains unfazed by early exits of the big seeds as she approaches the second week of the Australian Open.
Many big names have failed to make the second week with the likes of defending champion Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams and Karolina Pliskova crashing out before the fourth round.
However one name that still remains heading into the last 16 in Melbourne is Wimbledon champion Simona Halep, who produced a clean performance to dismiss Yulia Putintseva 6-1 6-4.
Hitting 26 winners, Halep easily progressed into the last 16 as she aims for a third grand slam title of her career following victories in Paris and London.
Despite being the biggest seed left in her half of the draw, Halep has remained focused even amongst the exodus of the big names, “Well, I’m not focusing on others, as you know,” the Romanian told the press.
“I know at this level everything can happen, so that’s why sometimes I’m a little bit stressed, sometimes I’m relaxed, because everything can happen.
“It’s just a tournament, and I’m sure that for you guys it’s a little bit of shock when the top-10 players are losing, but it’s life and we cannot be 100% every day. So we go ahead, and if I’m still in the tournament, it’s a good thing.”
Even though the fourth seed won’t admit it, now is a big chance for Halep to make her second Australian Open final with many big names from her half crashing out.
Next for Halep is 16th seeded Elise Mertens, who defeated Cici Bellis 6-1 6-7(5) 6-0, and the Romanian knows the threat that she poses, “She has a good game, like she plays fast, close to the baseline. We played many times, so it’s enough to know how she’s playing and what I have to do against her.”
As Halep approaches the second week, the Wimbledon champion also told the media that she feels more relaxed heading into the latter stages of slams, “So maybe I relaxed a little bit more. And I don’t see that these tournaments very high that I cannot touch them,” Halep said about the possibility of winning grand slams.
“So I feel more confident, and I feel that actually I know that it’s really tough to get match by match and to win seven matches, but I know it’s possible.”
The Romanian’s next match will be on Monday.
