Simona Halep launched her 2020 season with a hard-fought win and a heart-felt goals.
The fourth-ranked Halep defeated Australian wild card Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4, 7-5 to reach the Adelaide International quarterfinals.
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Halep revealed her primary goals are winning another Grand Slam title, capturing an Olympic medal for her country at the Tokyo Games this summer and enjoying herself on court.
"So my goal for this year is, of course, a Grand Slam, I started to like it, and my priority is the Olympics," Halep told the media in Adelaide. "I really want a medal. Doesn't matter which one or where, like singles, doubles, mixed. I just want one. I will do everything I can to do that."
The 2018 Roland Garros champion said she's excited to play Adelaide, which is hometown of her coach, Darren Cahill.
The pair spent a training a 10-day training block in Australia preparing for the season's first Grand Slam, which starts Monday in Melbourne.
Halep said all the hard work has heightened her expectations—and spiked stress—for 2020.
"Well, I'm not that relaxed, honestly. Maybe I look like," Halep said with a smile. "I'm a little bit stressed because I have worked hard in the off-season. Coming here 10 days before, it was a good thing for me. But still now I can say I have bigger expectations from myself. I feel the stress.
"But Darren told me that it's not about just this month, it's about the whole year, everything I have done before in the off-season. So I try just to play matches because I need matches, then to relax myself like I did the last two years. I feel like actually last year I've been much better with this stuff, and now I'm trying to improve more and more. I need to be relaxed and I need to enjoy more."
The second-seeded Romanian will face either sixth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka or qualifier Bernarda Pera for a spot in the semifinals.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve