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DONGFENG MOTOR WUHAN OPEN

September 25, 2016

Simona Halep

Wuhan, Hubei, China

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Tell us how do you feel coming into this stretch of the season and how do you feel about your game at the moment?
SIMONA HALEP: I feel okay. About my game, I practiced two times already here. I feel good. On the court I feel a little bit tired. I cannot sleep like I do always.

Yeah, it's end of the season, last three tournaments, I hope. I feel okay. I'm not tired mentally. I'm confident.

But you never know here. Every match is difficult at this level. I just want to give my best, to do as much as I can to this end of the season.

It's important, because last years, previous years, I didn't play that good. So I want to change it.

Q. Is it tough finding the energy and motivation in this stretch of the season?
SIMONA HALEP: I don't feel that it's tough to find the motivation and the energy. I feel okay. But here everything is different: food, people, the country is different. It's not easy to adapt so quickly.

So, yeah, I'm trying to do my best. Just enjoying, trying to enjoy.

Q. You've had more time to think about or reflect on New York and the summer in the U.S. What is the thing that you take away from New York?
SIMONA HALEP: Take away like good thing?

Q. What you learned, good or bad.
SIMONA HALEP: Good, that I had good results all three tournaments. I played a good tennis. I had a good preparation in Las Vegas. Those two months were great for me. I think I improved a lot. Also mentally I'm more confident. I feel like I'm close to the top.

Bad thing was that I couldn't win the match against Serena, even if I was close. But I was also happy in the same time because I gave everything I had. I felt that I'm really close, and I can dream for a Grand Slam in the future.

Q. You had a left leg hamstring injury. Do you feel better now?
SIMONA HALEP: I feel better. The muscle is impossible to recover in one week, but I don't feel pain. In these two days, I didn't feel pain. I didn't play much tennis home, so I don't know exactly. But I feel okay. I hope it's going to be okay and I will not feel pain. I think it's okay.

Q. You mentioned you haven't been sleeping well. Do you have any tricks to get over jetlag?
SIMONA HALEP: No (smiling). That's why I have trouble here.

But, yeah, tonight I slept four hours, so I am much better than first night.

Q. We were talking about Garbine about this earlier. Now that Kerber is No. 1 in the world, you have Garbine winning slams next to Serena, does it change the landscape in the women's game at all now that there's a different No. 1?
SIMONA HALEP: Yeah, it's different. I feel that everything, it's open now. I feel that everyone has a chance to win a big tournament, to reach the No. 1 seed. It's not easy, of course. You have to work a lot, to give everything you have, to give the best all the time, like Kerber did this year.

She deserves to be there. She worked hard. She played great during the Grand Slams. That's the most important thing.

Yeah, I think it's open, everything. Everyone has a chance to reach the top if we believe. And we started to believe more, I think.

Q. Now you do have a No. 1 who you've beaten, who you've played competitive matches against, that you know there are days that you're better than Angie is. How much does that change your mentality in terms of moving up the rankings, trying to get those sort of breakthroughs?
SIMONA HALEP: Yeah, I can say that it's much easier to work, it's much easier to believe in yourself when you see that Serena is not there anymore, like, winning every tournament, being No. 1 in the world for years.

Yeah, I think the tennis changed a little bit. We have many opportunities every tournament to get to the end and to win it. I just have to believe. I just have to work hard - harder than before. I just have to be confident that I can win against everyone in this moment.

Q. How different is it to be at tournaments, especially big tournaments like here in Wuhan, and next week in Beijing, without Darren?
SIMONA HALEP: He's coming.

Q. He's coming.
SIMONA HALEP: In Beijing, he's coming.

Yeah, is not easy. I can say that I miss him on court. It's important to have the coach next to you all the time, but also it's good to have some weeks apart. You appreciate more maybe when you have him.

It's good. I have to learn something alone, to do alone some things during the matches. So I think it's a good thing and I'm waiting for him in Beijing. I'm hoping this year I can do better than previous years.

Q. You were talking about believing. Why do you think Kerber believed already this season, despite Serena being No. 1 and winning everything, and maybe you start only believing you can win as big as she did?
SIMONA HALEP: About Angie, I think Australian Open, when she was close to lose that match first round, then she won the Grand Slam, I think she started to believe a lot in herself. That's why she's where she is now.

About me, well, I can say that I believe in myself. But still I don't have the feeling winning a Grand Slam or being close to No. 1. I cannot explain it in words, but I feel that I can. I feel that I have the chance. But you never know if it's going to happen.

Q. I remember a couple of years ago I asked you about on-court coaching. You told me that you prefer to be alone on the court and figure things out. Since then, Darren does come to the court. What made you change your mind?
SIMONA HALEP: He calms me down a lot, so that's why I like to call the coach now.

But still we had this discussion. We said that I will not call as much as I did. It's better to do the things alone on court because during the Grand Slams you don't have this opportunity to call the coach.

But helps me a lot. I call him when I feel.

Q. You said three tournaments left, hopefully. How important is Singapore for you?
SIMONA HALEP: It's very important. It's going to be the third year in a row. I didn't dream about this before. So it's going to be exciting. It's going to be a big challenge again.

I know it's going to be tough because it's the last tournament and everyone wants to win it. But I just want to be there, and I will be very happy if I will qualify.

Q. In the past two Wuhan Opens you came to the tournament and you were quite diligent. Do you think you attach a great importance to the Wuhan Open? This is the third Wuhan Open for you. Are you familiar with the Wuhan Open? For this Wuhan Open, what are your expectations?
SIMONA HALEP: I'm happy to be back here in Wuhan for the third time. Yeah, I can say that I feel okay. I like the fans. They are very nice to me. The people, as well. Everything, the conditions. The people that are helping us all the time with everything, it's nice.

Expectations about this tournament, it's tough to say. Always I said that I have no expectations when I come to the tournament. But, you know, always I want to win matches. So I don't know what to say.

I just want to go on court and to give my best, to win some matches, and actually to win more matches than I did before. I just want to go and to give everything I have.

Q. You said you don't feel necessarily right now that you're ready to win a Grand Slam, that No. 1 seems far off. Obviously you've made a Grand Slam final, you've been No. 2. Does that mean when that happened, you felt closer to being able to do it or did you not feel that close then either?
SIMONA HALEP: Yeah, close to No. 1, I never been, to be honest. I was like hundreds points away when Serena was No. 1. She was very far. I didn't dream to be No. 1 at that moment.

I wanted a Grand Slam always. I was close. I feel that I was closer to win a Grand Slam. That match, I was very disappointed that I couldn't win it.

I can say that I was not prepared at that time to play a final and to win it. But as I felt before the final, I think I played my best tennis in that day. I feel that I can repeat that result. But didn't happen till now.

I'm trying just to work hard, to believe more. Now, with all that happened, with the players that every Grand Slam was another winner, Kerber two times this year, I feel now is more open. I feel that I have bigger chance.

But I want to say again that you never know. I just want to be patient, to give everything I have every day, and we will see.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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