Simona Halep battles past Karin Knapp

Simona Halep has defeated Karin Knapp in straight sets to book her place in the second round of the Australian Open.

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The third seed was below her best against the world number 50 but she had enough to prevail by a 6-3 6-2 scoreline.

Both players started shakily in the opening match on the Rod Laver Arena but it was Halep who took advantage of her opponent's second serve to break three times on the way to sealing the first set.

The duo exchanged breaks during the opening five games of the second, but Halep was playing with the greater consistency and she immediately restored her two-game advantage.

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The Romanian came through a couple of nervy moments in the next game, but after moving to the brink of victory, she struck on Knapp's serve for the seventh time in the contest to move through to the last 64.