A refreshed and focused Simona Halep is embracing her “special” status as the top seed and world No.1 tag as she chases her ultimate tennis goal at the Australian Open.
The two-time Grand Slam finalist is determined to avoid repeating first round exits in the past two seasons at Melbourne Park, but won’t feel burdened by her ranking superiority.
“Being No.1 is special for me. It's nice to be in this position, for my experience, for everything. It's really, really nice,” the 26-year-old said.
“I don't feel pressure. I feel OK. I feel fit. I feel ready to start. Every time is tough, every match of a Grand Slam. Nothing changes that I'm No.1 or No.2 or No.3. I'm just looking forward to starting the tournament and to give my best.”
The top seed is adamant she is more at ease with her pursuit for a maiden major title.“I am more relaxed. I'm enjoying the time on court more. I just sometimes try to change something in my game, to adjust, to improve,” explained Halep.
“I have one more goal: to win a Grand Slam. But now I'm focusing on my game. I really want to get better and to improve in what I had less good.”
The Romanian, who has topped the rankings since Beijing in October, ignited her 2018 campaign by lifting the singles and doubles titles at Shenzhen in China.
“I came in the same situation in 2015, so I played quarterfinals, I have good memories. Hopefully I can do that again. But every match is going to be tough. The first round always is the toughest. I'm just focusing on that, then we'll see.”
Halep opens her title charge facing Australian prodigy Destanee Aiava and the top seed admits she isn’t too aware of the problems the teenager will present on court.
“I heard from my coach, because he's Australian. I heard that she's a very talented player and young. So is going to be a big challenge. Is not easy to play with an Australian at home,” Halep said.
“But I’ve faced many of these things, so I'm ready to play her. We'll see on court what is going to happen. I don't want to look much about how she's playing. I will try to solve the problem there on court.”
