Simona Halep’s return to action hasn’t gone as well as the two-time Grand Slam champion was forced to retire midway through her opener at a WTA 125 tournament in Trophée Clarins.
On Wednesday, Halep – who received a main draw wildcard into Trophée Clarins – started her clay season by playing against world No. 123 McCartney Kessler.
Early in the match, Halep looked solid and even managed to go up by a set on 24-year-old American Kessler. But then midway through the second set while 2-3 down to Kessler, Halep retired the match after she was previously spotted holding on to her knee.
However, knee issues were nothing new for Halep as before Trophée Clarins, the former world No. 1 skipped Oeiras and Madrid because of a knee injury.
For Halep, this was the start and end of her clay season since on Tuesday she learned that she wasn’t selected for either a French Open main draw or qualifying wildcard.
How the match went before Halep retired against Kessler?
Early in the first set, Halep was twice down by a break to Kessler after suffering breaks in the third and seventh games. However – on both occasions – Halep instantly got the break back after breaking Kessler in the fourth and eighth games.
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