By Frank Pingue
TORONTO (Reuters) – Twice winner Simona Halep stormed into the Toronto Open second round with a 6-0 6-2 win over Croatia’s Donna Vekic on Monday in the U.S. Open tune-up event.
Halep, who retired from her second-round match last week in Washington due to illness, breezed through the first set in 21 minutes and never looked back as Vekic grew more frustrated as the match lasting just over an hour wore on.
“I’m really pleased with the way I played today,” Halep, who did not face a break point, said during her on-court interview. “It gives me confidence the way I played.
“It’s not about the result it’s more about how I played. I’ve been very aggressive and I played fast so that’s my goal and I am trying to do that every day.”
Next up for the Romanian 15th seed, who won her two Canadian titles when the event was held in Montreal in 2016 and 2018, will be China’s Zhang Shuai or Spanish qualifier Cristina Busca.
Serena Williams, three-times champion and finalist in her last Toronto appearance in 2019, followed Halep onto the centre court for a match against Spain’s Nuria Parrizas Diaz.
Williams arrived in Toronto having only played one singles match this season – a first-round loss at Wimbledon in June that marked her return to competition after a year-long absence.
For Williams, one of 14 major winners in the main draw, the match will be the American’s first on a hard court since her semi-final appearance at the 2021 Australian Open.
Canadian 13th seed Leylah Fernandez will kick off the night session in Toronto against Australian Storm Sanders before Venus Williams meets Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
