Simona Halep has kicked off her campaign at the Western and Southern Open with a straightforward 6-3, 6-1, win over German qualifier Annika Beck.
The Romanian second seed overcame a tentative start to the match, when she lost her serve, to ease to victory in under an hour. Halep managed to break her opponent five times with the help of 17 winners. The win extends Halep’s winning streak on the tour to 11 after previously winning back-to-back titles in Bucharest and Montreal.
Following her recent success on the tour, the world No.4 is quietly confident about another good run at the tournament this year.
“I am really happy that I am back here in Cincinnati. I have great memories from last year.” Halep said during her on court interview.
“I played some very good tennis today and I’m happy with my game. I’m confident, I like the courts and I enjoy playing here.”
Halep, who was the runner-up to Serena Williams in Cincinnati last year, will play either Elina Svitolina or Daria Gavrilova in the third round.
There was less fortune for Belinda Bencic, who lost 7-5, 6-2, to Hungarian qualifier Timea Babos. The 19-year-old Swiss player was playing in her first match since Wimbledon after being sidelined from the tour due to a wrist injury. Bencic have been hampered with a series of injury setbacks this season. Prior to her wrist injury, the former world No.7 has also endured issues with her back and thigh. Due to these problems, the Swiss has fallen outside of the world’s top 20.
Babos might have made it to the third round, but she will have to wait a while to find out who she will be playing. Due to the poor weather conditions at the tournament, there are still two first round matches yet to be played in her section.
Roberta Vinci overcame some troublesome serving to defeat Tsvetana Pironkova 7-5, 6-3, in her second round match. The US Open runner-up was forced to save seven break points in one game and was broken three times in the match. Nevertheless, the Italian managed to battle back to seal the match in exactly 100 minutes.
The other early winner in Cincinnati on Wednesday was Misaki Dio. The world No.38 recovered from a set down to defeat home favourite Christina McHale 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. It is the first time that Doi has defeated the American after losing to her on five previous occasions. She will play 15th seed Karolina Pliskova in the last 16.
