RISING STAR: Australian Ashleigh Barty brought her momentum from winning the Zhuhai Open into the new year, defeating world No. 1 Simona Halep in straight sets

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 10, 2019
By: AFP, SYDNEY

Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei fell just short of the Sydney International quarter-finals after a 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 defeat to fifth seed Petra Kvitova yesterday, while world No. 1 Simona Halep and fourth seed Sloane Stephens are to head to Melbourne Park earlier than expected.

Halep had not played since withdrawing from the WTA Finals in October last year with a herniated disc and was no match for fast-rising Australian Ashleigh Barty, who scored the biggest win of her career 6-4, 6-4.

Last year’s Australian Open runner-up had a bye through to the second round, meaning she heads to the Australian Open with just one game under her belt.

“It was a great match after almost four months [since the last one]. I think I played a good level of tennis, but I had no inspiration in some important points,” Halep said.
[FULL  STORY]