Bucharest (AFP)
More than 30,000 people cheered on Wednesday the Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, victorious at Wimbledon on Saturday against American Serena Williams, at a ceremony in the biggest stadium in Bucharest (Romania).
"I want to share this trophy with you, it belongs to all of us and to our country," said the 27-year-old, while her fans chanted "Simona" in the arena of the National Arena.
"Let us rejoice and hope that such special parties will happen again," added the woman who has just won her second Grand Slam tournament, crushing her American opponent. "A dream come true," she says.
In 2018, this native Constanta, a locality on the shores of the Black Sea, had been crowned at Roland Garros.
"I hope this trophy will inspire as many children as possible to play this sport," she said, saying she was convinced that "anything is possible if you have confidence in yourself".
The player also thanked the two former glories of Romanian tennis, Ilie Nastase, "who made us love this sport", and Ion Tiriac, "who gave me very hard advice", both of whom are present at his side .
Simona Halep, professional since 2008 having finished the last two seasons as N.1 world, will be decorated in the coming days by the president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis.
© 2019 AFP