Simona Halep battles past Harriet Dart in Birmingham

Simona Halep won her 2nd match on grass this year by downing native player Harriet Dart 6-3 6-2 in Birmingham.

Simona Halep continued playing well on grass this year after a very lacklustre clay season. The Romanian player took down Harriet Dart in straight sets in Birmingham which is a very good result for her. Dart is very tricky to beat, especially on grass and especially this year when she's having a breakout year. The opening set started well for Dart who found herself up 2-0 early.

It did not last too long as Halep caught fire not long after that winning five games in a row to take a 5-2 lead. She finished off the opening set with 6-3 behind superb play on serve and even better play on return. Dart was doomed any time she missed her first serve and Halep exploited it.

The 2nd set was fairly competitive to start with both players having no issues winning their service game. Halep once again caught fire at a similar time to the opening set winning four games in a row to finish off the match 6-2 in the final set. A strong win for Halep who is looking very sharp on grass.