Halep conquers Madrid with new mentality

Meet French Open favorite Simona Halep. The Romanian rose four slots to No. 4 in the WTA rankings after polishing off Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2 in the Madrid final on Saturday. But there’s something different about her latest surge.

Her maturity is more than the dominance she showed in crushing Coco Vandeweghe and Anastasija Sevastova to reach the final. It’s greater than the resilience she displayed in staving off the hot-streaking Mladenovic.

And while it might be easy to point out that power-hitting stars Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka are not on the tour right now, and that Maria Sharapova is just making her way back, credit Halep for being the first player to step up in the midst of all the uncertainty.

This version of Halep is steadier, stronger and more determined than before. Yes, better than she was as the 2014 French Open runner up and the second fiddle to Serena Williams for most of 2014 and 2015.

She credited a brief split with her coach Darren Cahill. After her loss to Johanna Konta in the Miami final, he walked away, disappointed with not her loss, but her attitude.

"That’s why I started to work hard on my mentality, and my psychology," Halep told WTA Insider.  "Today, I showed it’s a new Simo, that I don’t give up anymore, even if I lose a close second set."

Her new mentality has translated to how she's playing. Watch her footwork break into a sprint for this closing forehand in the first game against Mladenovic:

Halep even refused to buckle when Mladenovic looked to serve out the first set at 5-4. Rather than trying to hit impatient heroic shots, Halep applied steady pressure by hitting early and forcing Mladenovic to run to the corners.

The Romanian is getting inside the baseline to dictate more of her offense, rather than staying a few feet behind, when the exchanges get hot.

It’s all getting done with a greater sense of calm, thanks to her improved attitude. The result is a more unshakeable approach from one game to the next with more poise and more patience.

"I don’t want to lose this [mentality], because my personality can be a bit crazy on court," Halep said. "Now I just have to stay calm because now I can see that when I’m calm, I can see the game and what my opponent is doing. That way, I can play better tennis."

There was no let-up to the final point. The 25-year-old was scrambling with a greater sense of urgency.

"I admire and respect Darren a lot. I think I have to thank him for making that decision after Miami, because it was a shock for me. I said that I have no other way but to change it," Halep said. "Honestly, I was strong; I don’t want to talk big, but I’m strong to change it so fast.

"Now I want to show myself that I can keep it, and be consistent with this because it’s much better for me."

There are several other worthy title contenders in Paris, but Halep might have the greatest desire to seize the French Open title and even No. 1 ranking.

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