Simona Halep played her first match of the 2021 season against Anastasia Potapova at the 2021 Gippsland Trophy and she succeeded when she advanced after two sets.
The world number 2 from Romania defeated also Ashleigh Barty a few days prior to the match at the exhibition in Adelaide. However, her first competitive match came in Melbourne against Potapova who put up a good fight against Simona Halep.
After the match, Halep admitted that it was an important victory for her. The Romanian needed to start her Australian summer well in order to prepare also for the Australian Open where she can improve her position in the WTA Rankings.
"I needed this victory because I didn’t play an official match since October of last year, so it’s been a long time," a smiling Halep said, during her on-court post-match interview. "I just wanted to feel the court, feel the game. I knew that it was going to be a difficult match, [Potapova] hits very strong. It was not easy, but I tried my best, and I’m happy to go through."
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