Photo: Porsche press database

SIMONA HALEP

(after her 6-3, 6-1 win against Anastasija Sevastova)

QUESTION: How good does it feel to be playing like this?

HALEP: It’s great. I mean, I feel good. I feel happy. I’m positive also on court, off court. So, I think it’s my best feeling so far this year and I want to keep it.

QUESTION: Can you talk about the positivity and changing the mind-set? How does somebody just do that? How do just decide I’m going to be positive?

HALEP: It was not easy. Maybe I will talk about this later this year but now all I just want to say is that I worked very hard on this after Miami. It was a tough moment after the tournament when I lost against Konta. But here I am, I’m much better on court, I changed a lot and I just have confidence that I’m able to change this and my attitude. I did already and I’m sure that I can be better soon.

Photo: Porsche press database

QUESTION: Darren is one of the most positive coaches when it comes on a coaching time-out but obviously he’s not here. Do you think that actually helped you in terms of changing your attitude having to figure it all out on your own?

HALEP: For sure he helped me with some conversations in Miami that we had. I think I saw better my problem let’s say that I am too negative. I just had to change it myself. I was working a lot as I sait at home and now it feels like I’ve always been like that. I don’t want to talk too much about this because I need time to fixt it, to be like this every match and then to be sure that myself is like that. But still I have to work a lot to fix it.

QUESTION: Have you watched yourself back during this coaching time-outs?

HALEP: I watched and I was ashamed how I looked.

QUESTION: How happy are you with your movement at the moment, especially considering that you had knee issues this year and it looked like you were really flying across the clay today and just moving pretty easily?

HALEP: Yes, I moved great actually before Indian Wells, I didn’t feel any pain anymore. So, I was able to train very hard. I worked very hard two months already. So, I’m feeling great on court, I feel light and I feel that I can reach all the balls.

Photo: Porsche press database

QUESTION: You play tomorrow against Siegemund. Last year you had …

HALEP: Three games? Yes, I won three games.

QUESTION: She is on fire. What do you expect?

HALEP: It’s going to be very tough. I expect the crowd to be very loud for her. I expect that she is going to play a great match. She hits a lot of drop shots so I have to recover and to work on my sprints a little bit. But, I’m here, it’s my second semi-finals, I have nothing to lose and I just want to be as aggressive as I have been these two days.

QUESTION: When you have a match like this or the first three matches where you … there were a couple of points out there where yo played incredible defence, there were a couple of points where you hit good powerful shots down the line. Is it the movement or is it the shots that give you the most confidence, that make you believe like your game is there?

HALEP: In my opinion it’s the confidence that gives you the power to move that well and to hit that well. So, if you have the confidence you can hit from anywhere and I have that now and I feel I cannot miss and I cannot miss a ball. So, I just go for it and I hit it like 100% sure and I have the point fixed in my head where I have to hit before the ball is coming.

QUESTION: And that decision-making ability do you feel that right now it’s like really clear in your head right now on clay?

HALEP: Yes, I have inspiration before every point. I have confidence. I have like exactly what I want to do on court before the match. I’m not tired anymore. I feel relaxed. I feel fresh in my head. Actually, I didn’t play so many matches this year so maybe that’s why I’m not tired (laughs). But still I take it like a positive thing. I take it like just I’m there with the game. So, I feel it in my hands.