Halep cruises past Cabrera in Australian Open opener

Simona Halep kicked off the night session on Australian Open Day 1 playing against native Lizette Cabrera at the Rod Laver Arena.

Simona Halep got off to a hot start winning her first match at the Australian Open in around 60 minutes of play with 6-2 6-1. It was a nervous start for the Australian as she quickly found herself down 0-4 after failing to keep the ball in play committing 9 unforced errors in that same timeframe. Simona Halep continued playing a solid game mixing it up quite a bit with the Australian simply unable to keep up with the Romanian. Unforced errors kept piling up as the set went along hitting 16 when the opening set concluded with a 6-2 Halep victory.

Halep continued her strong play into the 2nd set breaking Cabrera twice in the first three games to take a big lead which would prove enough in the end. Cabrera played a more competitive set in the 2nd even win some points on Simona's first serve but experience and composure in key moments were the big difference in this one as the 23-year old could not match Simona in that regard.

She was a very good 5/6 in break point situations only allowing a break in what should have been the last game of the match. In the end, it was more than enough for a 6-2 6-1 victory for Halep who moves on to round 2.