Simona stays strong to outlast Gibbs
No.4 seed Simona Halep moved through to the second round of the US Open for the first time since 2016, enjoying a 6-3 3-6 6-2 victory over American qualifier Nicole Gibbs.
The win on Louis Armstrong – Halep’s 40th WTA singles triumph this season – banished the memories of two successive first-round defeats at Flushing Meadows and allowed the Romanian to breathe a little easier.
“Well, the pressure was tricky today,” she said afterwards. “Winning one match in three years, it’s pretty tough (smiling). But it’s good that I could go over that. I was stressed before the match, also on this court that I lost last year. Was not easy. But I’m really happy that I could manage in the end to play better than before, like previous sets. The third set it was really good.”
Simona will face another American, Taylor Townsend, in round two on Thursday.
WTA match report: https://www.wtatennis.com/news
