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Australian Open second seed, world No. 2 Simona Halep, clinched an easy win 6-2, 6-1 against Australia's Lizette Cabrera on Monday in Melbourne, in the first round of this year's first Grand Slam tournament, according to AGERPRES.
The 29-year-old Romanian, who was a semifinalist last year, wrapped up the victory against local wildcard Cabrera (23, WTA No. 140) in just 59 minutes.
Halep seemed free of the back problems that had troubled her in the match with Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Gippsland Trophy quarterfinals, and was leading 4-0 in the first set and 5-0 in the second before her opponent had a chance to score.
The Romanian hit 14 winners compared to Cabrera's 7, and made 18 unforced errors, as to 28 - Cabrera.
Halep secured a check for 150,000 Australian dollars and 70 WTA points, and will play in the second round Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, who defeated Japan's Misaki Doi 6-2, 6-1 in the first round.
Halep holds a 4-0 head-to-head lead over WTA No. 72 Tomljanovic.
