Simona Halep (Romania) was knocked out at the start of the WTA 250 Hong Kong Tennis Open. The former world’s number one has won only one match out of five since returning to action in March following news the Court of Arbitration for Sport had cut her suspension from four years to nine months.
Simona Halep fell by 0-2 (3:6, 3:6) to sixth-seeded Yue Yuan (China). After losing the first set, the Romanian tennis player started the second very strongly and took a 3:0 lead, but was unable to maintain this rhythm for long. Thus, the two-time Grand Slam champion remains winless on WTA Tour since her return to action in March.
Yue Yuan had two break points already in the second game of the first set, but Simona Halep was able to escape the danger. However, the Chinese continued to put her illustrious opponent under pressure and managed to build up a 4:1 lead. The world’s number 45 continued to be solid on serve and maintained that lead, winning 6:3 in the opening set.
Contrary to the development of the game up to that point, the second half started much better for Halep. The Romanian improved her performance significantly and led 3:0 after an early break. Subsequently, however, Yuan’s much improved physical condition allowed her to regain the initiative and she did not drop any more games until the end, triumphing 2-0 (6:3, 6:3) after 1:23 hours of play.
