Romania’s world No. 4 Simona Halep excited to have Darren Cahill back as coach

World No. 4 Simona Halep claims having South Australian Darren Cahill back in her corner gives her confidence and reduces the stress during matches.

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Wimbledon champion Simona Halep believes the influence of South Australian coach Darren Cahill will enable her to relax as she prepares for an attack on the Adelaide International at Memorial Drive.

The pair reunited in September after a year apart and Halep claimed it was exciting to have Cahill back in the team, praising his support and the confidence he installed in her.

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“We always did a great job together and I’m looking forward to doing more because we know we can,” Halep said before a practice with Cahill at Memorial Drive on Saturday. “He is very relaxing for me, because you guys (Australians) have it.

“I don’t have it that much and need it. He helps makes it less stressful during matches.”

Halep won her first grand slam, the French Open, and twice finished No. 1 in the WTA year-ending rankings under the guidance of Cahill before he opted to stand down from the job to spend time with his family.

The Romanian world No. 4 defended Cahill after he was criticised for calling her a disgrace during the final set of her loss to Karolina Pliskova in the WTA Finals in Shenzhen, saying she deserved the dressing down.

Simona Halep gets advice from Darren Cahill. Picture: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

The Adelaide tournament has attracted a stunning field with 11 of the top 20 ranked women, including Queensland world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, involved. Superstar Novak Djokovic heads the men’s field.

Halep said she chose Adelaide to open her season because she had enjoyed her time here a few years ago when using Memorial Drive for practice with Cahill.

“I had three weeks practising in Dubai in the off season and I feel prepared,” she said. “Memorial Drive is amazing, the surface is nice and I like it.

“It is a little bit fast and I’m looking forward to more practice. It was too hot on Friday and after the flight I was a little groggy. That is a word I have learnt here.”

Tournament director Alistair MacDonald admitted to being pleasantly surprised with the quality of entries.

“There are a few complexities because we have a combined men and women’s event and there are not many outside the grand slams,” he said. “It is all about the players being relaxed and preparing for Melbourne (Australian Open) and we provide that.

“There will be 116 matches over eight days and we are using five courts. Everything is looking good and there will be a real buzz in the next few days as the players arrive.”

Originally published as Romania’s world No. 4 Simona Halep excited to have Darren Cahill back as coach