
An eventful 2018 for Simona Halep? You could say that. It began at the Australian Open.

Halep saved match points twice, including in a third-round epic against Lauren Davis, en route to reaching the final. And this as she nursed a sore ankle.

Halep or Caroline Wozniacki were guaranteed to open their grand slam account. It turned out to be Wozniacki after the Dane overturned a break deficit late in the third.

But Halep ended her grand slam drought on her favored surface of clay. The Romanian reversed a set and break deficit to beat Sloane Stephens.

Halep became the first Romanian to win a grand slam title since her manager, Virginia Ruzici, 40 years earlier.

Halep praised coach Darren Cahill during their partnership. They exchanged a hug after Halep's Roland Garros triumph.

It was all so different a year earlier. Halep relinquished a set and break leads in the second and third sets as she was defeated by Latvia's free-swinging Jelena Ostapenko in Paris.

This year after her French Open win, 20,000 fans greeted Halep in Bucharest.

But at the US Open, the year's final major, Halep crashed out to Kaia Kanepi in the first round.

Halep ended her season with a back injury, while coach Cahill initiated a split, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.