Simona Halep, defending champion, wins early in Madrid
By Harry Floyd
Simona Halep is off to a fine start at the 2018 Madrid Open. She is the tournament’s defending champion, having won the previous two years.
Last year at the Madrid Open, Simona Halep defeated Kristina Mladenovic in the finals, winning 7–5, 6–7, 6–2. The title-win made it two consecutive titles at the event. Now, she enters the 2018 Madrid Open as the top seed and defending champion.
Halep takes her opening round match with Ekaterina Makarova of Russia. The top seed wins with ease, taking the match 6-1, 6-0. She is finding her rhythm at the right time. Halep has one WTA singles title to her name this year and is the current world No. 1 in women’s singles tennis.
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The WTA Tour has seen much as the world No. 1 battling back and forth with Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. The Dane is the second seed in Madrid this week. She too wins her opening round match with ease, defeating Daria Gavrilova in straight sets. Wozniacki is the 2018 Australian Open champion. At Melbourne Park, she met Halep in the finals and came away with her first career Grand Slam singles title. Halep remains in search of her own major tournament win.
Simona Halep is looking for momentum as we head into the upcoming 2018 French Open.
The Romanian tennis star moves on with a chance at a third consecutive title in Madrid. She must be considered the favorite moving forward. Women’s singles tennis does have plenty of stars who can make a run though. Wozniacki is among them, but there are several others vying for glory at the 2018 Madrid Open. Also in action is Victoria Azarenka who wins her opener at the event. She continues her return to competitive singles action after having given birth to her son. Garbine Mugurza is the tournament’s third seed.
Check back to see how Simona Halep fares in her next match at the 2018 Madrid Open. The Romanian is in fantastic form right now and has to be considered the heavy favorite in the early rounds of action. Stay tuned to see how the field in women’s singles unfolds this week.