Simona Halep on Tuesday earned her first victory since her calf was injured in May, defeating Magda Linette 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 at the ATP and WTA Western & Southern Open.
US teenager Coco Gauff lined up a contest with second seed Naomi Osaka through a 6-1, 6-2 hammering of Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei.
On a day when rain forced a reorganization of the afternoon and evening schedule, women’s top seed Ashleigh Barty and Olympic gold medalist Alexander Zverev never made it onto the court. Halep only returned to the Tour last week in Montreal, losing in the opening round. She remained confident that progress was not far away after her injury in Rome three months ago.
Photo: Aaron Doster-USA Today
The Romanian defeated her Polish opponent for a second time, taking just more than two hours.
“It was a strong match. In my opinion, both of us played really well,” the 29-year-old said. “Maybe the rain delay helped me a little bit to find energy. I was a little bit stronger physically and mentally in the third set. “It means a lot, I’m really happy to win. It’s always important to have victories when you come back from an injury.”
“This was the first time in my life that I’ve had this kind of problem, and I didn’t really know how to manage it, but I’m happy to be back, happy to play pain-free. I’m just trying to build my confidence back,” she said.
Photo: Aaron Doster-USA Today
The 12th seed, a former No. 1, dominated her 44th-ranked opponent with 11 aces and four breaks of serve.
Gauff won her last match against four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka at the Australian Open last year.
“I’ve learned to just focus on me and not on the expectations of others,” she said of the high-profile meeting with the former No. 1.
Montreal champion Camila Giorgi fell 6-2, 6-2 in her opening match to Jessica Pegula in a re-run of the pair’s semi-final last Saturday in Canada.
Hopes ended for Britain’s Johanna Konta in a 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 loss to Czech Karolina Muchova. Konta has now lost in the Western & Southern Open first round in three of her past four appearances at the tournament, reaching the semi-finals last year when the event was staged in New York under strict COVID-19 protocols.
In the men’s draw, Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini returned from a thigh injury layoff, but only just managed a 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 7-5 defeat of Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
The Italian fifth seed showed rust after last playing the All England Club final against Novak Djokovic, but he prevailed after saving five break points in the final set to end it on a drop-shot winner on match point.
“I knew it would be tough, but I’m really happy — as much with the mindset as with the tennis,” Berrettini said.
France’s Gael Monfils was not troubled by Serb Dusan Lajovic in a 7-6 (7/0), 6-2 win in 91 minutes as he overcame nine double-faults, while the US’ Sebastian Korda won his 23rd match this season as he quickly brushed aside Serb Laslo Djere 6-4, 6-4 to line up against second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
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