Simona Halep sets out her goals and vision after teaming up with Patrick Mouratoglou

Simona Halep is already seeing the benefits of working with Patrick Mouratoglou as she feels her new mentor has helped to “open up” while she hopes he can help her to achieve her goal of winning a hard-court Grand Slam.

After parting ways with long-time coach Darren Cahill in September last year, Halep had short-term contracts with Daniel Dobre and Adrian Marcu before opting to go it alone after the Australian Open.

Following two months of solo touring with mixed results, the former world No 1 announced last week that she is to work with Mouratoglou, who has mentored Serena Williams for the past decade.

Williams is currently out injured and has given her backing to the partnership, but it is expected to be a short-term agreement with the 23-time Grand Slam winner likely to return to action in a few months.

I am now the full-time coach of @Simona_Halep. pic.twitter.com/MRlkmeJyhw

— Patrick Mouratoglou (@pmouratoglou) April 7, 2022

Halep explains why the Frenchman is a “good match”.

“I didn’t really know him before this year,” she told Tennis Majors. “We never talked and I didn’t have a feeling of how he is, but I saw that he has a strong personality and he’s pretty hard as a coach. So I thought he’s a good match for me and that’s why I’m here.

“He’s easy to talk to. We know each other pretty well already, which is a big step for me because I’m not very open to everybody, I’m a very introverted person. So he made me open and I think this is a good thing for our relationship on court. His simplicity is super heavy, super strong. He has a few words that he tells you and you understand perfectly what you have to do.”

Being a former world No 1 and a two-time Grand Slam winner means Halep is considered one of the current greats