2-time Grand Slam champion, Simona Halep is through to the next round at the Indian Wells after beating Ekaterina Alexandrova in her opening match. Last year was quite eventful for the Romanian tennis player, as she got married to Toni Luruc. Before that, she missed a lot of events on the tour due to injury, particularly the Wimbledon.

This year, she faced a lot of issues regarding coaches as she ended her long-term partnership with Darren Cahill. Currently, the tennis player is playing at the Indian Wells, as former tennis player Morgan Bourbon is accompanying her as a temporary coach. Meanwhile, American legend Chris Evert recently compared Simona to Rafael Nadal because of her hard work.

Chris Evert compares Simona Halep to Rafael Nadal

In a recent interview with Eurosport, 18-time Grand Slam champion, Chris Evert praised Simona Halep for balancing both personal life and professional life. The American even compared her to 21-time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal. According to her, she’s the female version of Rafael Nadal. 

“It’s interesting. I got married at the age of 24 and I think in two years I took 4 or 5 months off because I just wanted to lead a normal life! Simona Halep is another player, like Nadal, who has to work harder in training, in the gym, in matches. She is known for three-set matches and comebacks,” Evert said about Simona comparing her to Nadal (Google Translate). 

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Evert also revealed that she’s a big fan of Simona, particularly her game. “She is not tall or strong, so she has to rely more on her legs and movement. I think it just depends on her. I’m a big fan of Simona. I like her game. I think she can beat many of these players who are ranked ahead of her!” The former player said.

“I can’t believe she’s the 24th favorite (no – at Indian Wells). It’s ridiculous, but I know it’s because she was injured, she didn’t play, but she has what it takes to get back into the Top 5. She’s stronger than almost all of these players and she moves as well as best on the circuit,” Evert further said. (Google Translate)

Simona starts at Indian Wells with a win

Former world no.1, Simona is currently at 26 in the WTA rankings. If she wants to improve her rankings, she needs to do well both at Indian Wells and in Miami. Right now, she’s in the round of 32 after beating Ekaterina Alexandrova in the round of 64. The Romanian had to fight hard to get this win in three sets, as the final score was 6-2,4-6,6-2. 

In the next round, she will face the American teen sensation Coco Gauff in a blockbuster of a match. Incidentally, Coco won her first match against another American, Claire Liu, by 6-1,7-6.

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Can Simona win against Coco Gauff? Let us know in the comments.