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Simona Halep bounced back from a set down against Jessica Pegula on Saturday to enter the final of the 2022 Canadian Open. After going down in the first set in paltry fashion, the former World No. 1 clawed her way back into the contest with an impressive 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.
This is the Romanian's first final on the WTA Tour since returning from her injury earlier this season. Her new coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, took to Instagram on this occasion to congratulate her on the achievement.
The Frenchman, who has previously coached Serena Williams, made special mention of the fact that Halep will return to the Top-10 in the WTA rankings once again on Monday after playing her final against Beatriz Haddad Maia. Incidentally, it is also the first final of Halep's career since she appointed Mouratoglou as her coach a few months back.
" Congratulations Simona Halep! First final together and you will Top-10 on Monday" said Mourataglou.
"Before I met him I was super down with my motivation"- Simona Halep on her coach Patrick Mourataglou
After her win against American Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals of the Canadian Open, the Romanian weighed in on her experience of working with Mouratoglou. She revealed that before they started working together, she lacked motivation after her injury struggles in recent years, and credited the Frenchman with brining "the fire" back.
"Well, first I would say that when I, before I met him, I was super down with my motivation. And like, I couldn't really work, keep working. And I was almost done with tennis.
So he brought this fire back and the motivation. He trusted that I still can play good tennis. And he transferred this to me.
So, yeah, we are doing a good team, in my opinion. I trust him. I trust what we are doing. And I can show with the results because I'm in the semifinals again. So I'm improving. I'm working hard. Hopefully I can do much better in the future." said Halep.
Meanwhile, the final in Toronto marks her 18th final at the WTA 1000 stage, equaling the record of Serena Williams (since 2009). Speaking at her post-match press conference after prevailing over Pegula, the Romanian lavished praise on Mouratoglou once more, revealing that training at his academy gave her the fighting spirit back.
"Patrick. He brought [the fire back]. And the vibe from the academy gave me the energy. To see all those kids fighting every day to touch the dream that they have. I felt that I still can do it. I still have it inside myself. So that's why I'm still working hard," Halep said.
