Simona Halep has said her coach, Darren Cahill, temporarily splitting with her following Miami made her change her attitude.
In Miami, Halep fell against Johanna Konta 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 in the quarterfinal, having been up a set and a break in the second set before dropping the third.
Halep changed that by beating Kristina Mladenovic in the final at Madrid, winning in three sets.
She was happy to have turned it around in a few weeks, saying, “Today, I showed it’s a new Simona, that I don’t give up anymore, even if I lose a close second set. It makes me proud that I was able to change this... Now, I just want to work to keep it and make it stronger.”
Halep says she was injured at the start of the year. She lost early in her first four events.
But on clay, she has improved, reaching the semis in Stuttgart and then winning Madrid.
“I had a knee injury and was really scared about it at the beginning of the year because I’d never had that. It was something new and I didn’t know how to manage it,” Halep said. “I still feel it a little, but it’s not a big pain, so I can go through it without thinking too much about it in matches.
"I’m working every day, exercising. I think I did pretty good in the gym over the last seven weeks..I have a strong team, so maybe that’s why I’m back, feeling relaxed to have good people around me.
Halep is now No. 4 in the rankings.
