Simona Halep won her singles match on Day 4 of the US Open, but that wasn’t the victory that brought her the most smiles. Her first-round win in the mixed doubles draw was the one that had her laughing and not worrying too much about all the pressures that come with trying to acquire victories at the Grand Slam level.
Being paired with Romanian superstar, Horia Tecau, a player that hails from Halep’s hometown of Constanta, was a breath of fresh air for Halep.
I told Horia that I'm nervous before the match because I don't know what to expect about this match,” Halep said. “He said, ‘Just enjoy it and have fun on court.’ So I was smiling a little bit with him. But, you know, he relaxed [me] before the match. I told him just to tell me something about this match, how it is going to be, because I have no idea. And he told me where to stay. He was leading me all the match, so was good.”
The result was a 6-1, 6-2 win over Arantxa Parra Santonja and David Marrero. In singles, Halep worked her way past the feisty Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-3, 6-4.
Halep says she felt she was in good hands playing with Tecau, who she has known for 20 years and who is a Wimbledon doubles champion as well as an Australian Open mixed doubles champion.
“It was a good experience for me,” she said. “Horia played really well. It's really good to play with someone who cover the court very well. He has so much power. So, yeah, it was fun.”
And for those wondering, yes, this could be a future Olympic pairing. Halep was asked about that in press. “Maybe, maybe,” Halep said. “Yes, I think yes. But we'll see…”
Halep and Tecau will face 8th-seeded Julia Goerges and Nenad Zimonjic in the second round of mixed. Halep’s quest in singles will continue on Saturday when she faces American Shelby Rogers in the third round.