After three lost Grand Slam finals, the new sand court king Simona Halep has won her first Grand Slam tournament in her fourth attempt. The psychologist of the industry leader from Romania has now asked for the floor – and praised her client in the highest notes.
“I am simply proud of the hard work Simona has done over the past twelve months – also in dealing with herself. She will never again have to doubt whether she can do anything,” Alexis Castorri said in an interview on wtatennis.com.
And further: “Simona has made it in the classical way. She suffered a setback, then came back and took revenge.”
Only athletes with an “outstanding personality” would create such a thing, emphasized the Florida-based psychologist, who already looked after Andy Murray and Ivan Lendl. Both had each lost their first four major finals before they were successful on the big stage. “These are people who needed some trying until it finally worked. These people were persistent,” Castorri said. In this context, the specialist spoke of “agonizing pressure” that the protagonists would feel in Grand Slam finals.
She has been working with world number one Halep for two years now, after their Australian coach Darren Cahill introduced them. The duo does most of the “work” – i.e. the conversations – on the telephone. “I talk to my clients whenever they want. There is no pattern, everyone is different,” Castorri said about her everyday life as.
At the beginning of the year Halep also visited the renowned sports psychologist – and raved afterwards: “It’s nice to have someone to talk to about certain things. The 26-year-old explained and reported: “I have already made progress in this respect”. In Paris, “Simo” proved this impressively – and was received triumphantly in her home country at the beginning of the week.
And Castorri made no secret of the fact that she had “admired” Halep even before she first met him. “I like passionate people – and most elite professionals are like that. I love Simona’s passion and drive – and admire her attitude to work. She is an extremely honest person, and she is also easy to coach,” Castorri stressed.