Simona Halep is nothing but a fighter.
So while playing less than her best tennis and grieving from a family tragedy, the Romanian and No. 3 player in the world captured the BNP Paribas Open championship at Indian Wells with a three-set victory over Jelena Jankovic.
Simona Halep explains remaining in Indian Wells event despite suicide in family
According to tennis.com, Halep defeated Jankovic 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the final and did it "with nothing but fight." Halep had 47 unforced errors against only 22 winners but refused to quit on the match.
"First of all," Halep announced when she walked into the interview room, tennis.com reported. "I don't know how I won today because I didn't play my best. I didn't play like good tennis, but I just wanted to fight until the end because I think that's the most important thing for my style, for myself. ... I didn't play my best tennis [at this tournament], but every match was important for me, for my mind, for me mentally."
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She entered the tournament having learned that her cousin, 29-year-old Nicia Arghir, hanged himself in his home office in the Romanian province of Costanta. Halep contemplated withdrawing from the event to be with her family but decided against it.
"It's a painful situation for everyone, for me and for my family," she said, according to tennis.com. "I just wanted to play this tournament because he loved tennis. He played many years tennis. So I just decided to stay here, because I think it was a little bit easier for me to pass this situation. It's hard to speak about this, and I just want to dedicate this match to him, because, he loved tennis and he was very talented."
Halep admitted her confidence had been shaken after her 6-4, 6-0 loss to Ekatarina Makarova in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, in which tennis.com reported as Halep raising the "white flag."
"I said many times I was very disappointed after that match," Halep said. "I said I will fight till the end always, and that was the last match where I didn't fight. ... Here I did a great job, I think."
In the face of tragedy, a march to No. 1 may have just been born.
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