Simona Halep in a Reductio-ad-Absurdum Baseline Game

Patterned by Darren Cahill and other coaches to a reduction-ad-absurdum baseline game lacking much variety and punch in comparison say to her 2014 incarnation, Simona Halep still does not have the means to beat the power players, as the match today with Amanda Anisimova in the quarters of Roland Garros has just clearly demonstrated. Anisimova, as many young players, has adopted the men's forehand, the ATP forehand, as a weapon of choice. Neglecting detailed advice from these [1] [2] and other quarters, Simona has done nothing to update her weapons, except some minor changes on her service delivery.

As I have written to her in a recent message (I am not sure whether she reads such messages)
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Dear Ms. Halep, I beg to differ vigurously with your assessment or Mr. Dobre's that with Bertens "it was the FH or the BH." It's the overall variety that is painfully missing. It's just that the last coaches have convinced you to reduce your repertory of utilized shots (slice, dropshots, classical volleys have disappeared to a large extent), even if you master them, as well as offering a limited strategy, that of fighting from the baseline.

Notwithstanding your great success at RG2018, I still hold the opinions I had in 2015.
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As to variety, I cannot but repeat what I said four years ago already.

Marius Hancu
Montreal, Canada