Simona Says

Up and coming star and 11th-seed Simona Halep has looked strong in the early rounds, dispatching Katarzyna Piter 6-0, 6-1, and American Varvara Lepchenko 4-6, 6-0, 6-1.  The diminutive Romanian has displayed surprising firepower from the baseline as well as the mental and physical fortitude to deal with the scorching heat, and she remains a darkhorse candidate to contend for the title in Melbourne.

In her second round match on one of the outer courts, Halep seemed hardly bothered by the record temperatures even as Lepchenko required a medical timeout at the end of the second set to be attended to by multiple trainers who applied an icebag massage in an effort to cool the player’s body temperature.

Halep had a breakout year in 2013, and looks to be in fine form to go deep this fortnight in Melbourne.  Picked by many to be an eventual mainstay of the top ten, Halep continues her rise up the rankings and pushed forward into the 2014 season.

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