Simona HALEP happy to be back in the Eternal City 🎾 2020 ROME

#ibi20 No.1 seed Simona Halep overcame an early scare to progress past wildcard Jasime Paolini, 6-3, 6-4, in her opening match in Rome. "I was a little bit tight at the beginning," she admitted. "Actually, the whole match it was a little bit difficult to get the rhythm and to get relaxed. But the first match of the tournament is always tough and she played really well. "Her forehand was strong but so was the backhand. It was tough to find out what to do because we had never played before. "But I'm happy I could win the match. It was a very tough one!" "I felt like when I needed to, I played very well," Halep said. "And mentally I was very strong. I didn't give up at all. "Also, I didn't get very upset on court, and I'm trying to improve in that direction more and more. Today, that was a big plus." She will next face the MTOs drama queen Dayana Yastemska.