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ROGERS CUP

August 12, 2015

Simona Halep

TORONTO, ONTARIO

S. HALEP/J. Jankovic
6‑3, 6‑4

THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

Q. Solid win today against a very dangerous opponent, facing your first match of the tournament. How do you feel about your play today?
SIMONA HALEP: I feel happy that I could win in two sets. Always I played about three hours against her and I had always tough matches. I just went on court to play my best game. I had a long break home, so it was difficult for me to come here and to face one of the, you know, hardest players in the world because it's really difficult to play against her. But you know, I just tried to play my game. I didn't think about the score too much. Just I tried to do everything I can to win.

Q. So after the break, is it a little bit easier to come in and play stress free and sort of start from scratch on the hardcourts?
SIMONA HALEP: Yeah. I can say that I had stress free because I did not have expectations for this match because I had a long break. But also, it's not easy to come, too, because you didn't play matches for one month almost. So it's tough to go on court and to fight. But I did pretty well today and I'm really happy I could win in two sets.

Q. Were you surprised by the number of Romanian tennis fans in the crowd today and how does that affect you on court?
SIMONA HALEP: Yeah. I'm really happy that I have such a big support. Romanians are everywhere, so I really want to thank them for supporting me. It's really nice to see our flag everywhere. Many Romanian words in the crowd. So that makes me happy on the court and makes me more, you know, more stronger that I have big support, and I can say that I fight easier.

Q. Simona, what were you most pleased with today in your game and how much did this help your confidence?
SIMONA HALEP: My serve was pretty good today. So yeah, I tried just to be aggressive, to take the ball as soon as possible, because I know that she has a good defense. I tried to keep my first serve in because she's returning pretty well. I tried to play her forehand more, because I know that the backhand, she has a strong backhand. I tried to make her run a lot and just to finish the points if I can. I didn't want to rush myself, just to go into the court and just to take the ball fast and to open the court.

Q. And when you spend so much time practicing and then you come back to your first match, what's the biggest difference for you between practice matches and actual matches?
SIMONA HALEP: I can say that it's a huge difference because when you practice, it's like you are not in official match, so it's different. And you practice like with stress free, like I said before, and yeah, when you come here, it's‑‑ you have to be concentrated like for every point. So today I did pretty well, and I'm really happy that, you know, I could win against her. She is a very tough opponent and always I'm‑‑ I can say I'm scared that I have to run a lot against her. So it was a good day for me.
THE MODERATOR: Any other questions? Okay. Thank you very much.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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