Simona Halep takes down Montreal champion Camila Giorgi in US Open 1st round

It was a rather straightforward match for Simona Halep who looked excellent after a slow return from injury leading up to the US Open. Both players played rather well but Halep had a more consistent opening set waiting for her chance. It came with a very shaky game by Giorgi which sealed the first set.

Giorgi essentially only played that game badly but against Halep you need to be near perfect to avoid defeat. Simona served great in the first set which allowed her to win 15/17 first-serve points. The 2nd set followed a similar pattern with both players playing well.

The 2nd set was an interesting one were Giorgi was finding some sucess early however after carving out a break point she failed to convey it. A few games later she would find herself down 3-5 and all of her momentum was gone. At 4-5 Halep was serving for the match but Giorgi played one of her best games to make it 5-5.

It seemed like we might get a proper fight but all of that went away in the next game as Giorgi was not able to replicate the same level from the previous game. She did in the next game to force a tiebreak where Halep once again proved better and more consistent.

A solid overall performance by Halep who was able to catch Giorgi on a day where she did not have her stuff. Halep moves narrowly avoiding a 3-setter which should preserve her fitness.