Halep advances after sluggish start
TOP SEED Simona Halep overcame a couple of hiccups in her first match at the Italian Open in Rome to beat wildcard Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-4 and move into the third round yesterday.
The 28year-old Wimbledon champion has only lost twice this year but found herself a break down in both sets before she recovered to seal her first victory since winning the Prague Open a month ago.
World No. 2 Halep, who had skipped the US. Open due to Covid-19 concerns and opted to stay in Europe and practice on the claycourts ahead of the French Open, looked sluggish at the Foro Italico with 14 winners offset by 15 unforced errors.
“I was a little bit tight at the beginning, it was tough to get a rhythm in the whole match,” Halep told reporters.
“It’s always tough in the first match of the tournament and she played really well. I felt like I played very well when needed.”
Second seed Karolina Pliskova started her title defence with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Barbora Strycova, converting four break points and smashing 26 winners past her Czech compatriot.
Meanwhile, Belarusian Victoria Azarenka beat American Venus Williams 7-6(7), 6-2 to set up a second-round clash with third seed Sofia Kenin.
After winning the Western & Southern Open last month and losing the US Open final in New York over the weekend, Azarenka had no problems switching from hardcourt to clay in just four days.
“Different surface was definitely challenging but I feel like I adapted very well,” Azarenka said.
“I felt that this was a great match for me to figure it out, the first match on clay.” – Reuters