Simona Halep is still feeling the effects of an ankle injury suffered in the first round at the Australian Open, but the world number one insists she can cope with the pain after cruising through to the quarter-finals.
Having suffered a knock early in the tournament against Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava, the fourth round was rather kinder to the ailing Halep than her marathon third-round win over Lauren Davis, with Naomi Osaka seen off briskly 6-3 6-2.
And the Romanian acknowledged she had struggled to recover from the clash with Davis in the 48 hours before the next round.
"The first day after the match was pretty okay, but [Sunday] night was really tough," Halep said. "I couldn't sleep. I had pain everywhere.
"But I slept before the match for two hours, and that worked perfect, [they were] perfect hours. I was fresh after that. I felt good.
"The ankle is still sore, but I'm not thinking about that any more. I have seen that I can win matches with it."
Halep says she is now taking the competition "match by match", but feels confident in her bid for a first grand slam title after reaching the last eight.
"I didn't expect to [reach the] quarter-finals, but I didn't expect also to stop the tournament, even if I was injured," she added. "I had nothing clear in my head.
"I just went on court, take match by match.
"The match against Davis was huge for me; maybe it gave me a little bit more confidence that my body is okay and I can resist the tough matches. Now I'm more confident."
Comments
SHARE