2017 french open is now done and dusted having a new champion in its ranks. It was Jelena Ostapenko from Latvia who stole the title in women's singles final against Simona Halep. For the 25-year-old Romanian, this is the second French Open final that ended in defeat. While Ostapenko is stealing all the headlines as a result of the clay court miracle she accomplished, Simona Halep caps a bittersweet clay season. Over the past two months, she has been the most constant player on the WTA circuit, playing three finals in a row (Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros).
It's a pity that she was not able to capitalise in yesterday's final but this is how things chose to be.Starting from tomorrow she will jump up to world no. 2 thus matching her career high spot in the ranking. It's the grass season looming on the horizon and the Romanian tennis star is likely to have another solid run unless her mind is elsewhere.
The upward trend is still there
After suffering a terrible and somehow expected meltdown in Miami a few months ago, Simona Halep was on the verge of splitting ways with her coach Daren Cahill. That was the pivotal moment of the season for the 25-year-old player who further entered the clay-court swing determined to strengthen her mental leverage. The new approach turned out to be a radical change for her as she started to accumulate some good results.
After being a runner-up at Roland Garros she is now the no. 1 player in the WTA Race to Singapore. Overall, her attitude, even when she;s not playing at her best, shows that she is prepared to put in some more effort in order to achieve her goals.
It'll be interesting to observe whether or not her brand new mojo can resist the tremendous pressure after losing her second Grand Slam final.
That inner 'cool down' feeling must be under siege after suffering a huge loss.
The grass season is about to kick off
Being back on the world no. 2 while smelling the no. 1 spot from a close range, Simona Halep might try to push her into the stratosphere during the grass court season. On the other side, an extended clay schedule could bring an element of fatigue to her game.
Reaching three finals in a row, especially on clay, requires a huge amount of resources being squandered. After all, Halep's game essence is her surreal footwork and her ability to cover every corner of the court. The grass season might be just what she needs, a type of game which is based on short rallies. Despite having a disappointing outcome at the French Open, she is one of the most consistent players on the WTA Tour and by extension a name worth being closely followed over the next weeks.
