Simona Halep cruised past
Aliaksandra Sasnovich in Linz 7-5 6-3 to move to the next round of the
Upper Austria Ladies Linz.
Sasnovich arrived in Linz after some solid performances in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals where she almost defeated a couple of noted players. The Belarussian player had reason to be optimistic in this match however Halep was simply too good. From the start of the match, Simona proved in very high spirits showing more pleasure for being on the court than usually.
That reflected in her play as she was able to quickly go up 4-0 thanks to some stellar tennis player. Sasnovich struggled to absorb the tremendous pressure she got from Halep but over time she finally found a way. Halep started to miss more than she hit and the score was 4-4. That did not rattle Halep too much as she was able to still take the lead once more.
She finally closed out the set with 7-5. At the start of the 2nd one, Halep continued to apply pressure on Sasnovich and the Belarussian was once again unable to cope with it. Halep took a 3-0 lead and that would prove enough to secure herself the win in Linz. The Romanian player served well and held her serve for the rest of the set, closing it out with 6-3.
A good start and win for Halep who will be looking to end the year with a trophy instead of losing in the final as she did in Cluj-Napoca. Today she exacted revenge for her Indian Wells defeat to Sasnovich and that indicates she is in good form.