‘A disgrace on the court’: Coach slams Simona Halep in incredible scenes at WTA Finals (VIDEO)
Simona Halep’s coach Darren Cahill labelled the Wimbledon champion a “disgrace on court” during her WTA Finals group stage match against Karolina Pliskova in Shenzhen, China, on Friday.
The Romanian tennis star was struggling against less-decorated Czech rival Pliskova, who claimed the opening set 6-0.
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The 28-year-old Romanian redeemed herself after the slow start by picking up the second set 6-2, but Halep again started making numerous unforced errors in the deciding third set.
Halep was trailing in the set when Cahill took center stage in an attempt to give Halep extra motivation and reverse the rhythm of the game which was dictated by Pliskova.
Also on rt.com The great eight: Top women’s stars prepare for WTA Finals in China – but who has the edge heading into $14mn season finale?"Simona, Simona, look at me,” Cahill said. “The last three games you've been a disgrace on the court. Come on, you can't win the match doing what you've been doing the last three games. You've got to reel it in.
"You can finish with full energy and full focus or you can continue doing what you've been doing the last three games and you have no chance to win,” he added.
"The last three games you have been a disgrace on the court."Talk about tough love 😳Simona Halep's coach came down mid-game to make his feelings absolutely clear.She won just one point in the next two games that followed and went on to lose the match... 👀#WTAFinalspic.twitter.com/8L5g4UrUI9
— BT Sport (@btsport) November 1, 2019
Cahill’s words didn’t appear to be much inspiration for Halep, who stared disconsolately at the floor throughout the attempted pep talk.
She went on to lose the match 0-6, 6-2, 4-6 allowing Pliskova to set up a semi-final showdown with Australia’s Ashleigh Barty.
The two-time Grand Slam winner said after match that she was not offended by the coach’s harsh words, admitting that she fully deserved to be called a “disgrace.”
👏👏 @KaPliskova defeats Halep in a thrilling third set, 6-0, 2-6, 6-4, at the Shiseido @WTAFinals Shenzhen pic.twitter.com/tuWcth4yNs
— WTA (@WTA) November 1, 2019
"Yeah, it was a little bit of the impact for me but I'm pretty sure that I deserve (it) because I was not calm. I changed something in my attitude,” she said.
"Everyone knows that I'm working on that. I was a little bit pissed on myself that I did that. I'm sure that I made him pissed also."
