Ever since joining hands with Patrick Mouratoglou, Simona Halep has been encountering her fair share of ups and downs on the WTA tour. What started with a not-so-pleasant clay court season ended with a strong grass court season. Shifting to the North American hard-court swing, the former World No. 1 suffered a second-round loss in her opening tournament, the Citi Open.

Despite the disappointment, the Romanian player looks to be in a sound position at the Canadian Open. Outplaying Jessica Pegula in the semifinals, the 30-year-old is back in the final, eyeing her third title on the hard courts of Canada. Although Halep continues to experience highs and lows on the tour, she strongly believes that Serena Williams’ ex-coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, is a crucial part of her career at this stage.

Simona Halep credits Mouratoglou for bringing back the fire

Following an impressive performance during her semifinal victory over Pegula, Halep credited Mouratoglou for improving her passion for the sport. “The person next to us. Patrick. He brought it,” she started.

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Ever since Halep has been working with Mouratoglou, her go to place for training has been the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France. Having coach Mouratoglou standing beside her, the 2-time Grand Slam champion uses her time at the academy to polish her skills before tournaments.

Going ahead in her conversation with the media, she credited the energy at Mouratoglou’s academy for acting as a plus one to reviving her fire for the sport. “And the vibe from the academy gave me the energy. To see all those kids fighting every day to touch the dream that they have.”

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Halep and Mouratoglou started working together at the start of her clay court season, i.e. Madrid. Considering the duration of working together, it is needless to say that the two are still in their experimental stage. However, taking Halep’s words into consideration, it also goes without saying that she has accepted Mouratoglou as the change maker at this stage of her career.

Going ahead, she ended by saying, “I felt that I still can do it. I still have it inside myself. So that’s why I’m still working hard.”

Having Mouratoglou by her side, do you think Halep will shine at Flushing Meadows later this month? Do let us know in the comments below.