Top seed Halep beats Begu to extend winning run to 16

French Open top seed Simona Halep got past Irina-Camelia Begu to extend her winning run to 16 matches and progress to the third round.

Published : Sep 30, 2020 22:44 IST , Paris

Simona Halep will next take on American teenager Amanda Anisimova in the third round of the French Open.

Simona Halep will next take on American teenager Amanda Anisimova in the third round of the French Open.

French Open top seed Simona Halep put in a disciplined performance to tame big-hitting compatriot Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3, 6-4 in the second round on Wednesday, extending her winning run to 16 matches.

Halep had won all the previous seven meetings with her 73rd-ranked opponent and jumped to a 3-0 lead on Court Suzanne Lenglen. But Begu got the set back on serve before the 2018 champion broke again in the eighth game before holding serve to win the set.

Begu hit seven more winners than the 2018 champion but also had 15 more unforced errors, and a second break was enough for Halep to secure the second set.

The Wimbledon champion hit her 15th winner on match-point to seal the match and will next meet American teenager Amanda Anisimova, who earlier demolished compatriot Bernarda Pera 6-2, 6-0.