Simona Halep eases into round three

The Romanian was tested throughout a close encounter, with the first set seeing five breaks of serve.

Halep was improved in the second – with her troublesome ankle not appearing to hinder her in some gruelling rallies – as she moved into a match with 26th seed Daria Kasatkina.

"I think it was a difficult match today," Halep told a post-match press conference.

"I hadn't played against her in many years. I didn't expect her to play at such a high level, so at the beginning I was a little bit insecure. I didn't know exactly what I had to do, what to attack or whether to take a step behind the court and the line or just to play the same."

Halep, a finalist at Roland Garros in 2014, is widely considered the favourite for the title.