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ROGERS CUP

August 13, 2015

Simona Halep

TORONTO, ONTARIO

S. HALEP/A. Kerber
6‑3, 5‑7, 6‑4

Q. Simona, how does it feel? That was a very, very good win.
SIMONA HALEP: I am tired. Yeah. It was a tough match. She was amazing, I think, today. She has pretty much confidence. She won Stanford. So it's a good tournament for her.
I think I played better than yesterday, and I feel more confident now. My serve didn't work very well, but I returned well. So I'm really happy that I could win this match. I was fighting till the end, and I think that I found a way again to win the tough matches.

Q. Yeah. It looked like it was getting obviously very difficult there. She was getting every ball, every ball that you were hitting back. So mentally, how did you keep yourself in it and not get negative or discouraged in the third set especially?
SIMONA HALEP: Mentally it was tough for me to stay there very focused for every ball. I had some downs in the second set. She did 5‑2. But at 4‑2 it was a tough game there. I could win that one, but I didn't. So I came back and I said it doesn't matter the score. I have just to play for every ball, every point and just to finish the match in a good way. I didn't think about the victory. I just wanted to stay there and to try to stay more on court because I need matches, I need the official points.

Q. I think when you broke to 4‑3 in the final set and then she broke immediately back and that was a tough game that you were able to break in, you kind of smiled after getting broken back. I mean what was going through your mind at that point?
SIMONA HALEP: It was funny because I couldn't take my serve, she couldn't take her serve. So we made many breaks in the last set, but you know, I felt a little bit tired and it's difficult to keep your serve when you are tired, if your serve is not like the strongest in your game.
I just wanted to relax myself and to believe I had one more chance to take the break. So I did well in the last game. I said that I have to win it, because I cannot move anymore. So yeah, I served well in the last game, and I finished the game with ace.

Q. You looked pretty shocked by that.
SIMONA HALEP: What?

Q. You looked shocked when you hit the ace.
SIMONA HALEP: Yeah. I remember that the match before I did the same thing and I said that I have to try again, to finish the point very early. So I did well, and it's really nice to be back here in Toronto and playing good tennis.

Q. On a scale of 1 to 10 how difficult was the match today in comparison to the one yesterday?
SIMONA HALEP: It was much more difficult because she was very strong, and with the lefty, with the lefty player it is not ease toy play. The ball is coming in the other way. So it's not easy to return it.
She has, like I said, she has pretty much confidence because she won a tournament, and maybe she believed more than me that she can win the match. But I stayed there very focused and I tried just to fight for every point.

Q. And what strategy did you think you used best in order to win this match today?
SIMONA HALEP: Yeah. I made her run more, and I just tried to open the court, to open the angles to play short crosses. I did pretty well, but when I hit the ball very strong, she broke very well. So I had to mix the game, and it was a good idea.

Q. If I remember correctly, I think you beat her back in maybe 18 months ago in Qatar Total Open.
SIMONA HALEP: Doha, yes.

Q. Doha?
SIMONA HALEP: Last year.

Q. You beat her rather handily as I remember that match, 2 and 3 or something like that.
SIMONA HALEP: Yeah, but‑‑

Q. Has she changed that much in 18 months the way she plays?
SIMONA HALEP: At that moment I was with my confidence very high. So that tournament I played I think my best tennis. I didn't think that I can lose in that week.
So now it's other situation. I'm coming from a long break. I stayed home for about four weeks, so no official matches. She came straight just after won a title. So big difference, and you know, I'm happy that I could win today because even if I won in three sets, it's very important for me, and it shows me that I have the power to finish the tough matches.

Q. You didn't know that today's International Lefties Day.
SIMONA HALEP: I knew. I knew.

Q. So you played with a lefty, and you trained this morning with a lefty.
SIMONA HALEP: Yes.

Q. A Romanian from Toronto. It looks it helped, and how do you change the strategy? How do you change the techniques from a right‑handed player to a lefty?
SIMONA HALEP: Yeah, I practiced with a Romanian girl, a lefty girl, so I really want to thank her because it helped me.
And yeah, it's not easy to play with a lefty because the ball is coming in the other way. So first few games I have just to stay there, very focused to feel the ball, how it's coming from her serve. I did pretty well with my return today, so you know, before the match I speak to my coach about the strategy and what I have to do on court.
I execute, I think, the plan. So it was a good day and good match. She played really well.

Q. Is it a result that's going to be very good for your confidence now that you are in the quarterfinals?
SIMONA HALEP: Yeah. It's very important for me that I'm in quarterfinals here in Toronto where it's a big tournament, and makes me more confident that on hardcourt I can play good tennis, I can make good results.
You know, I had two tough matches with top players, so for me every match, every tournament is important. So we will see what is going to happen here in this tournament, and I have just to build my confidence for US Open.

Q. And do you like the hardcourt surface that we have in Toronto?
SIMONA HALEP: Yes, I like it, and I play well here. So I have great memories from the past, so here I feel good and I'm really happy that I came back.

Q. So obviously with Darren, and both of you guys are Adidas, he can't weigh in on tactics and things like that. So when you go out there and you play Kerber, are the tactics just from you, the game plans just from you or do you talk to somebody else?
SIMONA HALEP: I spoke with sparring who is with me, this one. I spoke a few things about the game, about how she's playing. I know her pretty well because I played against her and I watched her pretty much.
Sometimes I take my own strategy on court, but now I spoke with the sparring.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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