<p class="title">Newly-crowned French Open champion Simon Halep said she was inspired to win her first Grand Slam title by her manager Virginia Ruzici's feats 40 years ago at Roland Garros.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Until Saturday, Ruzici's 1978 Paris triumph over Mima Jausovec was the last time a Romanian, man or woman, had won a Grand Slam but Halep ended that long wait as she hit back to beat American Sloane Stephens 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In doing so, Halep equalled the feat of American seven-times French Open champion Chris Evert who also suffered three Grand Slam final losses before capturing the 1974 French title.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's a motivation and inspiration," the 26-year-old Halep, who lifted the junior title 10 years ago, told reporters with Ruzici sitting alongside her.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Forty years ago she won here. It's a special moment. The fact that it's happened here, it's pretty special. So yeah, she's an inspiration."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Ruzici, who also lost the 1980 final and was the inspiration for Richard Williams to teach his daughters Venus and Serena to play tennis, said her charge's win was well-deserved.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"There is, of course, a lot of emotion," she told reporters. "She was very close last season. She was favourite for this final but it was not simple. It was a physical and mental fight. Simona gave her heart on the court."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Halep climbed to the top of the rankings last October and has been there more or less ever since.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The elephant in the room remained her lack of a Grand Slam trophy having twice lost the title match in Paris, to Maria Sharapova in 2014 and Jelena Ostapenko last year, and at this year's Australian Open to Caroline Wozniacki.</p>.<p class="bodytext">By beating Spain's former French Open champion Garbine Muguruza in the semifinals she guaranteed that she extended her stay as the world's number one player -- a position she has held now for 32 weeks in total.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But it was the Suzanne Lenglen trophy she really desired and the tears flowed as she raised it skywards on Saturday after showing huge character to battle back to victory.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I'm really happy that I won this Grand Slam. Because being number one without a Grand Slam, I always said, is not like everything, not 100 percent," she said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's my favourite Grand Slam. I always said that if I'm going to win one, I want it to be here."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Halep said the memory of last year's defeat by Ostapenko when she led by a set and 3-0 actually helped her on Saturday when she trailed by a set and 2-0 to an inspired Stephens.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"When I started to win games, I said that last year it happened to me, the same thing," she said. "I was a set and a break up and I lost the match. So I said there is a chance to come back and win it."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Halep's French title arrived in the 32nd Grand Slam of her career. Only seven players have taken more attempts to land one.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Her patience finally paid off as she used all her experience to weather the Stephens storm.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I said that I have to calm down, just to try to open the court, try to put more balls in," she said. "And at one point I felt that she started to feel a little bit tired and to miss more. So I was patient."</p>
<p class="title">Newly-crowned French Open champion Simon Halep said she was inspired to win her first Grand Slam title by her manager Virginia Ruzici's feats 40 years ago at Roland Garros.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Until Saturday, Ruzici's 1978 Paris triumph over Mima Jausovec was the last time a Romanian, man or woman, had won a Grand Slam but Halep ended that long wait as she hit back to beat American Sloane Stephens 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In doing so, Halep equalled the feat of American seven-times French Open champion Chris Evert who also suffered three Grand Slam final losses before capturing the 1974 French title.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's a motivation and inspiration," the 26-year-old Halep, who lifted the junior title 10 years ago, told reporters with Ruzici sitting alongside her.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Forty years ago she won here. It's a special moment. The fact that it's happened here, it's pretty special. So yeah, she's an inspiration."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Ruzici, who also lost the 1980 final and was the inspiration for Richard Williams to teach his daughters Venus and Serena to play tennis, said her charge's win was well-deserved.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"There is, of course, a lot of emotion," she told reporters. "She was very close last season. She was favourite for this final but it was not simple. It was a physical and mental fight. Simona gave her heart on the court."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Halep climbed to the top of the rankings last October and has been there more or less ever since.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The elephant in the room remained her lack of a Grand Slam trophy having twice lost the title match in Paris, to Maria Sharapova in 2014 and Jelena Ostapenko last year, and at this year's Australian Open to Caroline Wozniacki.</p>.<p class="bodytext">By beating Spain's former French Open champion Garbine Muguruza in the semifinals she guaranteed that she extended her stay as the world's number one player -- a position she has held now for 32 weeks in total.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But it was the Suzanne Lenglen trophy she really desired and the tears flowed as she raised it skywards on Saturday after showing huge character to battle back to victory.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I'm really happy that I won this Grand Slam. Because being number one without a Grand Slam, I always said, is not like everything, not 100 percent," she said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's my favourite Grand Slam. I always said that if I'm going to win one, I want it to be here."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Halep said the memory of last year's defeat by Ostapenko when she led by a set and 3-0 actually helped her on Saturday when she trailed by a set and 2-0 to an inspired Stephens.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"When I started to win games, I said that last year it happened to me, the same thing," she said. "I was a set and a break up and I lost the match. So I said there is a chance to come back and win it."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Halep's French title arrived in the 32nd Grand Slam of her career. Only seven players have taken more attempts to land one.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Her patience finally paid off as she used all her experience to weather the Stephens storm.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I said that I have to calm down, just to try to open the court, try to put more balls in," she said. "And at one point I felt that she started to feel a little bit tired and to miss more. So I was patient."</p>