A new beginning with Team Mouratoglou for Simona Halep (video)

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – However it turns out for Simona Halep in this later phase of her career, she thought she’d be done with tennis by 30.

But now, having put just about every aspect of her tennis career until the care of former Serena Williams coach Patrick Mouratoglou, she says she couldn’t be happier.

As in – REALLY happy.

Here’s what she had to say about it, in her pre-tournament interview before the start of the Citi Open.

(The video cuts in a bit late. But at the start, in response to a question about her “leaving” longtime coach Darren Cahill, she clarifies that it was Cahill who left her – not the other way around).

Halep, the No. 3 seed, faces qualifier Cristina Bucsa of Spain Monday to kick off the action on the tournament’s stadium court.

Mouratoglou will not be with Halep in D.C., or in Toronto next week. “He has kids, and he has to be with them,” Halep explained.

Here are Halep and Sloane Stephens, both former Grand Slam champions, practicing in D.C. on Saturday.