Romania’s Simona Halep returns the ball to Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova in the first round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, Tuesday, May 27, 2014. Halep won 6-0, 6-2. AP
PARIS — Romanian fourth seed Simona Halep reached the French Open second round on Tuesday with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova.
Halep, playing on the Philippe Chatrier court for the first time, goes on to face either Heather Watson of Britain or Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic.
The 22-year-old Halep, the winner of seven career titles and a runner-up to Maria Sharapova at the Madrid Open claycourt event this season, raced into a 6-0, 5-0 lead before Kleybanova stopped the rot.
But the Russian, ranked 87 in the world and playing in Paris for the first time since 2010 after undergoing cancer surgery, was eventually undone by her 32 unforced errors as Halep wrapped up victory in 56 minutes.
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