Halep looking on the bright side as she rolls on at Roland Garros
A change in outlook is proving beneficial to Simona Halep, who reached the French Open quarter-finals with a win over Carla Suarez Navarro.
French Open quarter-finalist Simona Halep is relishing her reunion with coach Darren Cahill after a brief split due to her poor on-court attitude.
Cahill, who has worked with Andre Agassi, Andy Murray and Lleyton Hewitt among others, told the Romanian he wanted a break after she repeatedly got down on herself during a defeat to Johanna Konta at the Miami Open.
The Australian initially said he wanted to wait until after Roland Garros to discuss working with Halep again, but saw a subsequent improvement in the world number four at the Fed Cup and in Stuttgart, prompting him to reconnect.
Halep showed a much more positive disposition during her 6-1 6-1 fourth-round thrashing of Carla Suarez Navarro on Monday, as well as in her news conference afterwards.
"I think everything is changed. Also in my general life. I'm more positive and it helps me. I don't have bad moods anymore, so it's good," said a smiling Halep, who will meet fifth seed Elina Svitolina in the last eight.
"I still want to say that I have more to improve in this way, but now I'm okay with the way I am on court and out of court. I just work hard. I really wanted to change that. I knew that it's going to change my game if I'm more calm on court.
"I think it meant a lot that he [Cahill] took that decision. It helped me. I just felt that it was like a shock, because I lost the coach. So I have just to improve in this way, because he never had something to complain about my game and about the work that I do, because I'm working.
"But just with my attitude. I knew that is the only one thing that I have to change to have him back. So I work hard, and I changed. I changed pretty fast. But still I repeat, I have a lot to work on.
"He just told me that, we will talk after Paris. And then he liked how I was in the Fed Cup, both matches. And then in Stuttgart. So I think when I finished Stuttgart, he said he saw enough, and he's ready to come back.
"I asked him if he wants to come back before Madrid. He said yes, because I improved a lot, and he saw that I really wanted to change that.
"So the desire that I had in that moment made him come back and just be ready for me. So I'm okay. Now I'm happy that I can be positive on court, and I will never be negative like I was in Miami, because I didn't like it when I saw the video, I felt ashamed about what I did. So hopefully it is not going to happen again."