NEW YORK: Second-seeded Simona Halep rallied from a set down to beat a young American making her Grand Slam debut in the first round of the U.S. Open.
The Romanian won 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-2 on Monday over 20-year-old Danielle Rose Collins. As a sophomore at Virginia, Collins earned a wild card into the U.S. Open with her run to the NCAA title as an unseeded player.
The French Open runner-up, Halep reached a career-high ranking of No. 2 this month. She has never advanced past the fourth round at the U.S. Open.
Sixth-seeded Angelique Kerber also needed three sets to outlast qualifier Ksenia Pervak 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. Kerber was down a break in the third set.
Fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska had no such trouble. She beat Sharon Fichman 6-1, 6-0 in 47 minutes, losing just three points in the second set.
