Wimbledon 2018: Simona Halep staying grounded for the Championships despite French Open success

Halep finally got her hands on a Grand Slam after emerging victorious at the French Open earlier this month

Simona Halep will start Wimbledon as a Grand Slam champion for the first time, but the world No 1 insists that not much has changed since her triumph three weekends ago at the French Open.

Halep, who had lost in all three of her previous appearances in Grand Slam finals, admitted: “Of course inside of myself it’s a change because I’m really happy that I was able to break that barrier, but life is the same. Everybody’s the same. I am the same.

“I have to start to play tournaments again. I’m here ready to go ahead. I’m really looking forward to start it. The pressure is off. The dream came true. I don’t stress myself any more with that Grand Slam thing. It’s nice to be in this position. It gives me just happy moments. I was dreaming of this. I did it. Now I have already set another goal.”

Having won her first Grand Slam title and been world No 1, what was that new goal? “I would love to have an Olympic medal,” the Romanian said. “My focus is on that.”

Halep took 10 days off after the French Open and has not played any warm-up matches on grass, though she has been here practising for more than a week.

“I needed a break, but I know that I have to keep myself together for this Grand Slam,” she said. “It’s an important tournament. I have to be focused on it. But after this tournament, I will have a big holiday. I really need it.”

After winning the French Open a crowd of 20,000 turned out to greet Halep when she returned to her home country.

“I had tears in my eyes actually receiving the love from the people,” she said.

“It was really nice to see those people appreciating my work and my result. I think it was a dream for them also, to have a tennis player winning a Grand Slam again after 40 years. It was an amazing moment.”

Halep admitted that until her victory she had felt a great weight of expectation in her home country. “There was huge pressure and everyone was saying that I wasn’t able to win a Grand Slam because I was weak mentally,” she said.

“But now I’ve done it. I feel like people realise that if you don't give up, if you work, keep working on what you need to improve, you can realise your dream.

Halep won her first Grand Slam earlier this month (Getty)

“Now I feel that everybody's more relaxed. Of course, I have more people asking me for autographs and pictures. It's a little bit crazy in my country. But I enjoy it. I try to manage it as well as I can.”

Petra Kvitova, twice a champion here, looks sure to be a major contender again, especially after winning the title at Edgbaston in her first outing of the grass-court season. After suffering career-threatening injuries in the horrific knife attack on her 18 months ago, the 28-year-old Czech has found some of her best form in recent months.

Kvitova admitted nevertheless that she did not regard herself as one of the favourites and said she would need to get her mental approach right over the next fortnight.

“I'm the kind of the player who loves to play those Grand Slams,” she said. “Sometimes I want it too much. I tried to be more relaxed in Birmingham and everything worked perfectly.

“I’m going to try to have the same kind of mindset here. Obviously it’s not that easy. I know how great the memories are that I have in my mind from the past years. It will be a little bit difficult to play more freely, but I’m going to really try.”

Kvitova said that she was used to coming into this tournament as a favourite. “I've been hearing this every year I've played Wimbledon, so it's not really anything special,” she said. “I heard the same last year, though I had only played two tournaments [after starting my comeback].”