Tennis-Halep digs deep to win tense first round match at Australian Open

Simona Halep overcame a poor start and a fiery opponent at the Australian Open to prevail 7-6(5) 6-1 over big-hitting American Jennifer Brady in their first-round encounter on Tuesday. The Romanian fourth seed was broken in the very first game of the match and later took a nasty tumble during a punishing rally at 5-5 in the first set.

After a medical timeout, Halep began playing more aggressively, eventually edging out Brady in a tense tie-break to take the opening set. A break early in the second set but Halep back in command and she clinched the match after 1 hour and 36 minutes.

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