Halep gets 2022 underway with a strong win over Aiava

Simona Halep played her first singles match in 2022 and defeated native Aiava in Melbourne 6-4 6-3 with a solid performance.

Simona Halep got her singles campaign in Melbourne underway with a match against Australian Aiava. The Romanian player played a very good match from start to finish to win it and move on. Halep arrived in Australia happy to be playing competitive tennis again and ready for the challenge the new year brings. She admitted to being quite relaxed and not stressing too much about results and expectations.

Today was a bit of a slow start with Halep needing some time to find her rhythm. Once she did she was able to steer away from problems and conclude the match easily. Aiava was a bit nervous to start the match as well dropping her serve in the first game but she pulled it right back. After that, she settled in nicely and forced Halep to work quite a bit.

The Romanian found a breakthrough late in the first set but it was still enough to win it 6-4. In the 2nd set, Halep applied early pressure on Aiava, attacking her 2nd serve which resulted in an early break. Once she was able to do that it was mostly cruise control for Halep who avoided giving Aiava any chance of a comeback.

She added another break later on and ultimately closed it out with 6-3. She will play compatriot and occasional doubles partner Elena Ruse in the next round. That match is scheduled in 14 hours so it will be a very short turnaround.