Simona Halep salutes Serena, lauds retiring champ’s game-changing passion, desire

WATCH: Halep surged into the National Bank Open semifinals on Friday with a win over Coco Gauff.

Simona Halep spoke at length about Serena Williams’ profound legacy at the National Bank Open, where the 23-time Grand Slam champion announced she would soon “evolve” away from tennis.

“It was an honor, actually, to play so many matches against her and to share the locker room with her, to share the court,” Halep said after defeating Jil Teichmann to reach the quarterfinals in Toronto.

“She's always been an inspiration for everybody and for me too. I said this always. I admired her, you know, the power to stay there so many years, to win so much.”

Halep and Williams faced off 12 times, with the American leading their head-to-head 10-2. Though Halep played an incredible match to win their 2019 Wimbledon final, one of her fondest memories came in 2013, when the Romanian made her first tour breakthrough in Rome and played then-No. 1-ranked Williams in the semifinals.

“She killed me,” Halep recalls. “But that year she didn't lose a match on clay. So,she was the only one who dominated tennis few years in a row. And I think that that's not going to happen again.”

She's always been an inspiration for everybody and for me too. I said this always. I admired her, you know, the power to stay there so many years, to win so much. Simona Halep

Their most recent meeting came at the 2021 Australian Open, where Williams put down one of her best performances since giving birth to daughter Olympia to avenge that Wimbledon defeat and reach the semifinals.

“Every time I played her it was a moment that I had to learn some things. And I always was trying to take some things from her.

“She's super professional, super like confident on the court. Super dominant. I think, yeah, she has so many qualities as a player.”

For Halep—who has gone on to hire Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena's longtime coach—Williams was, quite simply, a game-changer.

“The power, the confidence, the way of playing to stay super aggressive, to stay close to the baseline and to make so many winners, also the serve, which was untouchable sometimes. And also the desire, the passion to win every ball.

“We're going to miss her, but I think she has many other things, important things in life to go through. So, I think it's time to stop tennis because she has a life ahead, and she's done unbelievable things in tennis and is going to be the best for all, like forever, I think. Nobody's going to touch the level that she touched.”

Halep continues her own comeback from the various injuries that derailed her pre-pandemic form; she defeated Coco Gauff in straight sets to reach the National Bank Open semifinals on Friday.