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Simona Halep overcame Montreal champion Camila Giorgi 6-4, 7-6(3) in a riveting contest to kickstart her 2021 US Open campaign on a strong note. Halep is playing her first Grand Slam since the Australian Open earlier this year; an injury to her calf muscle had sidelined her for close to three months.
There was no sign of a break point until the ninth game of the first set, which is when Halep broke Giorgi before serving it out. The second set turned out to be a see-saw affair; the 12th seed failed to convert two match points on serve, after which Giorgi forced a tiebreak.
But Halep eventually kept her calm to sneak out a straight-sets victory.
In her post-match press conference, the Romanian talked about her nerves while struggling to serve out the match late in the second set. Halep did serve remarkably throughout the rest of the match though, striking six aces and winning 83% of the points on first serve.
The 29-year-old revealed that she had practiced her serve during the injury-induced hiatus and that she's happy to see the shot improving.
"At 5-4 I felt the pressure," Halep said. "Because I don't have many matches, I felt sick a little bit because I knew actually I have to finish the match because in three sets would be a little bit tougher."
"I worked a lot in the break when I couldn't move that much because of the leg. So I did practice a lot of serves," she added. "But I'm happy to see my serve improving, and I can win some easy points with it. So I have been looking for it for many years, but now finally I can feel it stronger."
Simona Halep also gave an update on her recent injury, which she claimed is still present. A tear in the adductor had forced the Romanian to withdraw from the Cincinnati event, and she had her thigh taped in her first round match on Monday as well.
"I practiced once a few days ago without the tape, about 30 minutes, and I felt the pain again," Halep revealed. "So probably it's mentally more, but also I have the injury there. So it's better to have it. I talked to the physios, WTA physios, and they advised me to keep it. So I will play with it."
Halep was later asked for her thoughts on World No. 1 and Wimbledon champion Ashleigh Barty. The 29-year-old heaped praise on Barty's ability to stay calm every time she plays, before acknowledging her comprehensive skill-set.
"Yeah, she's amazing," Halep said. "She has that calm every time she plays, and I think that helps her to just win the matches even if she doesn't play her best tennis. Mentally she's very strong, and also the game."
"She's changing the rhythm, the slice helps her a lot, serve is super good," the Romanian added. "So I think she has everything, and that's why she's able to stay there that long and to win titles."
"I rushed being ready for Wimbledon, because I wanted to play badly" - Simona Halep
Simona Halep further opened up on how her health has been her biggest challenge this season. Halep sustained a tear in the calf muscle during the Italian Open in May, and on Monday she admitted she had never faced such an injury before and so didn't know how to handle it.
In hopes of pursuing her Wimbledon title defense, the Romanian even traveled to SW19 in July. However, she eventually had to withdraw to give herself more recovery time.
Halep expressed her regret for rushing her body to get back on the court.
"It [2021] has been the biggest challenge on the health part," Halep said. "The biggest injury that I ever had, the calf. I didn't know how to handle it. At the beginning I got a little bit down about it. Then I rushed being ready for Wimbledon, because I wanted so badly to play Wimbledon. But I think I forced those two weeks and then I had to stay another four."
"Yeah, it was something new, and now I can say I have learned something from that," she added. "And when I feel a little pain, I stop and I try to recover as much as possible."
Simona Halep will take on lucky loser Kristina Kucova in the second round of the 2021 US Open on Wednesday.
