Premium
Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, #2 in the world, had a no thrills qualification to the round of 16 of the singles' event of the WTA Rome tournament, where she is the top seed, after winning on Wednesday in two sets, 6-3, 6-4, against Italian player Jasmine Paolini, #99 in the world rankings.
Simona Halep, who turns 29 on September 27, took one hour and 20 minutes to defeat her 24-year-old opponent, who benefited from a wild card.
The Romanian started weak and lost the first two games, after which she controlled with authority the first set and proved her superiority in the second set, which was more balanced. Halep and Paolini were at their first meeting on the playing field.
Halep will face off in the round of 16 the winner of the match between Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska (20 years old, #29 WTA) and American Amanda Anisimova (19 years old, #27 WTA).
Simona Halep was victorious last month in the tournament in Prague.
