Former world number one Simona Halep, 30, looked set for an easy win over Chenwen Cheng when she lost the match completely.
After that, the Romanian said that she had a panic attack.
– I didn’t know how to deal with it, she says.
Simona Halep It was 1-0 in sets and a second-place break against 74th seed China’s Kenwen Cheng at the French Open.
Everything indicated that the 2018 champion would advance to the third round when Zheng broke again and then completely dominated the match. She won second place with a 6-2 score and quickly went 3-0 at the third decision.
Then Simona Halep called the doctor.
Zheng easily won the third match, 6-1, after which Simona Halep said she had a panic attack in the middle of the match.
Something just happened, you just dropped it. I led the match and played well but that happened and as I said I lost it. I couldn’t focus, I was having trouble breathing, I told Eurosport.
“must relax”
During the match, the doctor took his blood pressure and checked his heart rate and after that new tests were done and all values looked fine.
– After the match, it was very difficult. But now I’m fine again, I’ve recovered. There was no danger yet I could smile again.
Halep believes the high demands she placed on herself have been met.
– It’s just tennis so I need to rest a bit more. Maybe I put too much pressure on myself because I really wanted to win.
The coach apologizes
Halep recently began working with star coach Patrick Muratoglu, who himself came out after the match and apologized for his own efforts in his coaching role in an Instagram post where he didn’t mention the panic attack at all.
“The results of recent months in Madrid, Roma and Roland Garros are not enough for any of Simona Halep’s caliber and I take full responsibility for that. She is dedicated, passionate and gives everything in every ball. Mister. I demand more from myself and I want to apologize to her fans who always support her”, he is writing.
As for Zheng, Alize Cornet is now waiting in the third round. She defeated France’s Latvian 13th seed Jelena Ostapenko in a three-set match.