“It’s always tough at the first round”- Simona Halep survives a resilient Nastasja Schunk in her French Open opener
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Simona Halep
Simona Halep faced a rising star Natasja Schunk, and despite some challenges, she was able to win the match in three sets, 6-4 1-6 6-1.
Halep has been playing excellent clay tennis this season, but her quality has been inconsistent. She was excellent at times and dreadful at others. The same situation happened in this match, with Halep behind 0-3 at the outset. She needed some time to find her stride, but once she did, she fought back in the first set.
“To play better next round, this is my goal”- Simona Halep
At 5-4, Halep was able to save breakpoints and win the match 6-4. The second set was when she began to lose her compass. She rushed into rallies and attempted to do too much, which backfired. Schunk won the set 6-1 in 35 minutes, taking advantage of 13 errors from Halep. Halep had to save a pair of breakpoints to start the final set.
Schunk had two in total, but she didn’t use either, and she went apart from there. Simona Halep broke her in the next game to establish a 20-point lead, which ultimately became a 3-0 lead. She then added another break to make it 5-0, at which point the young German gave up. Halep won 6-4, 6-1 in a match in which she made 31 errors compared to only 18 winners.
In her on-court interview, The Romanian said, “First I want to thank the audience for staying because it’s cold. Thank you, thank you for the nice atmosphere and I am really happy to be back at Roland-Garros. Last year I didn’t play, so I really missed it and I am actually happy with the victory even if it was difficult.”
“She was playing super well. In the second set, she was hitting the ball strong and I didn’t have a response but indeed I stayed focused, I stayed strong and I am really happy that I could finish this match. It’s always tough at the first round.” she went on to add.
When asked about her goals in the French Open 2022, Halep concluded by saying, “To play better next round. This is my goal and I am just focusing on that. I just want to give my best every time I step on the court and to fight as I did today.”
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Pritha Ghosh
(414 Articles Published)