With Heavy Heart, Halep Returns

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With Heavy Heart, Halep Returns

Injuries have slowed the start of Simona Halep's season.

The fourth-seeded Romanian dispatched Donna Vekic, 6-4, 6-1, in her BNP Paribas Open opening match gaining a much-needed win.

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It was Halep's first win in a month and came with a heavy heart. Her beloved grandfather passed away earlier in the day at the age of 82.

The 2015 Indian Wells champion paid tribute to her grandfather in a Facebook post calling him "a man with a good heart... who always cherished me... a grandfather with a heart of gold."

Halep discussed the impact her grandfather's passing had on her perspective in her post-match press conference.

"I'm totally different person," Halep said. "Today also happen something sad in my family, and I see the life different just in 10 hours. So everything is changed in my head.

"My grandpa died today, and, yeah, I was close to him. It's tough, but, you know, life. I'm happy that I could win, actually. It's a positive thing for me."

Next up for Halep is a third-round date with 28th-seeded Kristina Mladenovic, who won her first career singles title last month.

Back on court with @simonahalep! Going slowly but good early signs after returning from injury. Big thx to @dragosciaus for taking such great care of Simo. Not a bad court in view @bnpparibasopen. Not a bad backhand either 😉👊🏼

A post shared by Darren Cahill (@dc10s) on
Mar 6, 2017 at 6:07pm PST

"She won a title. But today helped me a lot this match, and I'm pretty sure that I'm ready to face her," Halep said. "She's playing very well, but I'm coming back.

"I have no pressure. No expectations. And when I don't have expectation, I play better. So I just can't wait to go there to play. I'm really happy I'm healthy, so doesn't matter anything else."

Photo credit: Christopher Levy

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