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Coach Patrick Mouratoglou has apologized and taken the responsiblity for Simona Halep's poor French Open result, stating that he needs to do better. In April, Halep announced Mouratoglou as her new full-time coach. As the main reason for hiring Mouratoglou, Halep listed her desire to get back to winning the biggest titles in the world.
Mouratoglou is considered as one of the most coaches on the Tour, having accomplished a lot in his partnership with Serena Williams. Unfortunately for Halep, she didn't enjoy an impressive clay season. After reaching the Madrid quarterfinal, Halep suffered second round exits in Rome and Roland Garros.
On Thursday, Halep suffered a surprise defeat in the French Open second round as Zheng Qinven upset the Romanian in three sets.
Mouratoglou: Halep is working hard, I have to do better
"I’ve always been proud of my successes with my players, but then I also have to acknowledge when I’m not doing a good enough job," Mouratoglou wrote on Facebook.
"The results we’ve had the past month in Madrid, Rome and Roland-Garros are insufficient for someone of Simona’s caliber and I take full responsibility for them. She is fully dedicated, motivated, gives it everything on every ball.
She is a champion - her track record speaks for itself. I expect much better from myself and I want to extend my apologies to her fans who have always been so supportive." Halep appeared to be cruising toward a straight-set win over Zheng but then collapsed and lost the match in three sets as the Chinese claimed a 2-6 6-2 6-1.
Halep got off to a very good start, as she was 6-2 2-1 up on Zheng. Zheng then won the next eighth games and completely turned the things around. After the match, Halep revealed she had a panic attack on the court. Halep said she was feeling better after the match and expressed hope that it won't happen again to her on the court.
