World number one Simona Halep survived a serious scare against Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi to make it into the second round of the Australian Open second round, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2.
The two were difficult to separate in the first set, which went to a tie-break, but Halep began to assert herself in the second as Kanepi struggled more to convert points at the net.
As the match went on, Kanepi found herself suffering with a blister on her hand, which affected her shot choice, and Halep took full advantage.
“It was a pleasure to come back here and win the match!” admitted Halep afterwards.
She got some measure of revenge over Kanepi, who knocked her out of the US Open in the first round, 6-2, 6-4.
“I don’t want to remember that match – it was a tough one!” the Romanian joked.
Halep will next play American Sofia Kenin, who earlier beat Russian qualifier Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
