Halep says she's not feeling the pressure at Roland Garros

Simona Halep is relying heavily on her improved mental toughness this week at Roland Garros. The top seed was tested by Alison Riske on Wednesday, recovering to win 2-6, 6-1, 6-1.

After the second-round win, the Romanian said she isn't feeling the pressure, despite needing to reach the semifinals to keep her No. 1 ranking. This fortnight is also one of her best chances to finally win a major.

"I don’t feel the pressure," Halep said. "I feel that it's a nice opportunity and a nice challenge to face. It's great to be in this position. I just have to relax my mind, because If I’m relaxed I can play my best tennis."

Halep is a two-time finalist at Roland Garros, and also finished as the runner-up in Melbourne to Caroline Wozniacki. Last year, she was up a set and a break against an unseeded Jelena Ostapenko in the French Open final, and crumbled.

But it's a new year for the 26-year-old and a new opportunity. It may actually help that she's not an outright favorite given her up-and-down results since the Australian Open. She reached the quarterfinals in Madrid, the semifinals in Indian Wells and the final in Rome but lost early in Miami and Stuttgart.

It'll be an even greater challenge for Halep in Paris with two of her biggest foes back in the mix, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. Sharapova beat her in the 2014 French Open final, and Williams has an 8-1 record against her.

But Halep is looking at the draw with a positive mindset.

"Many big names, and I think it's open, so anyone can win it," Halep said. "It's a pleasure, I can say, to be in the same draw as the other girls. It's nice that we can compete again together."

Though being No. 1 at a major comes with its fair share of expectations, Halep is sticking to what she knows works for her—managing her nerves to relax enough to play her best tennis.

"I think the nerves are really good," she said. "It means that you care about what you are doing and your desire is really big."

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