Halep eyes world No. 1 ranking in Singapore

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Simona Halep, the current world No. 2, had a fantastic year chasing Grand Slam titles, but ultimately fell short of reaching the top of the world rankings this year despite three opportunities.

In the French Open final, with the world No. 1 ranking on the line, the 25-year-old Romanian would lose to Jelena Ostapenko after leading the match by a set and 3-love.

"I can say that I touched the trophy up a set and 3-0. I was really close, but she started to play amazing, she hit everything," Halep said, on losing the chance to win her first Grand Slam title. "Maybe I wasn’t very aggressive in the important moments, and in the end there, maybe I should push my game a little bit closer to the baseline and hit the balls.”

"Maybe if I had another chance to play again, I will be more experienced and more aggressive,” she added.

Halep revealed that she did not know she had a chance to become the world No. 1 until after the French Open; she was just hunting a Grand Slam title.

In Eastbourne and Wimbledon, the top ranking was again within reach, but Halep came up short on both occasions. During a thrilling encounter against Johanna Konta, the Brit scored yet another comeback win against Halep.

“It’s never easy to lose a Grand Slam final and then to get back on court, also in a major, and play good tennis, but I did," Halep said. "I was close with Konta, but there I got a little bit emotional because of this No. 1 ranking, and I lost it again.”

Halep chose not to play in Bucharest, her hometown, the week after. “I know I am a pretty emotional person, every time I face big moments," she told reporters, adding that she was tired after the major and didn’t want to get injured, so she had decided it was better to rest.

Attaining the top ranking is still the next goal for Halep, and she now has her eyes set on the WTA Tour Finals in Singapore to do just that.

(Top photo credit to Getty Images)