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Simona Halep wins tough battle against Kaia Kanepi in the Australian Open 1st round

Simona beats the Estonian in 3 tough sets

15 January 2019

Simona Halep received a rather tricky draw at this Australian Open and the very bad news was that she had to face in the 1st round her US Open conqueror Kaia Kanepi.

Simona on paper is stronger than the Estonian, but Kaia had the luxury to step into the court knowing that she could upset again the world no.1 also because Simona admitted that she didn’t train that hard during the off-season to take some rest.

The match

Simona broke early in the opener in the 3rd game (2-1), but she was broken back soon after (2-2). Things got immensely complicated for the world no.1 after she lost the 1st set and she was 6-7 1-2 and a break-down. At that point, Simona managed to stage one of her famous comebacks, to break back the Estonian (2-2) and win the second set after breaking again her opponent in a very long a dramatic 10th game (6-4).

Kaia disappeared in the decider also because she was struggling with blisters, and Simona found her way to win 6-7 (2) 6-4 6-2 in 2 hours and 11 minutes.

With this win, Simona interrupts a losing streak of 5 matches and she will face the world no.37 Sofia Kenin in the 2nd round. They have never played each other so far.

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