Simona Halep continued her unbeaten run since the restart with a 6-3 6-4 over Jasmine Paolini at the Italian Open in Rome.
The Romanian, 28, won the title in Prague at her first tournament since the WTA tour resumed in August. However, she elected not to travel to America for the US Open swing so she has not taken part in any events in the last month.
Given this, it is understandable that Halep struggled to find her form as she fell behind in both sets. In such circumstances, a less experienced player might have lost. But the World No.2 has a mature attitude these days and she stayed calm to fight back in both sets.
Paolini falters after encouraging start
Paolini made an excellent start. She used her potent forehand to great effect to earn an immediate break and open up a 2-0 lead.
Unfortunately for the Italian, that first hold of serve was her only hold of the set. She made a series of double faults to surrender her serve and allow Halep back into the set.
Then the Romanian attacked the World No.99’s serve and broke her twice more. This enabled her to win six of the next seven games and claim the first set 6-3.
Halep finds form when she needs it most
The second set had even more twists. Paolini again grabbed an early break. Then, once again, she failed to hold serve afterwards.
After two breaks took the score on to 3-3, the Italian earned a break that seemed more important. And it turned out to be exactly that – for her opponent. Halep raised her game and produced her best tennis of the match in the last three games.
First, the Romanian hit a couple of superb winners to break back to love. Then she played a flawless service game to hold to love. Finally, she sealed victory by breaking Paolini’s serve for an eighth time.
Yastremska edges Anisimova to set Halep meeting
Halep’s next opponent will be Dayana Yastremska. The Ukrainian overcame Amanda Anisimova 4-6 7-6(3) 6-4 in a scrappy second-round encounter.
During the match, Yastremska made 11 double faults and was broken five times. However, none of those breaks were in the final set, so she may need to re-produce that level to stand a chance against the Romanian.
