"I was very nervous. The first one is always tought" said Halep after Australian Open opener

Simona Halep kicked off her 2022 Australian Open campaign with a win over Magdalena Frech 6-4 6-3 to move on.

It was a pretty sturdy match from Halep who was not brilliant but did enough to move on to the 2nd round. For Halep it's about building consistency and confidence ahead of the 2nd week where proper challenges will await. She admitted to being nervous after the match saying:

"The first match is always tough. I was very nervous. But I'm really happy with the way I played, with the way I've been on the court. Going through to the second round makes me happy."

Despite not being an overly impressive match, Halep is looking at the big picture and from that perspective, it was a fairly good match. She was challenged albeit not too much and she escaped with a relatively comfortable victory. She said:

"I feel like in the big picture, [it] was a good game for the first match. It's always tough. I'm always nervous. But also she didn't play that bad. She was playing well. She was running very well. She was moving well. I think was a good match and I take only the positives."

She finished it off with:

"I don't believe I am at the highest level, my highest level, like in the past. But I feel good. I feel confident that the game is there, the movement is there. The mental is pretty strong."