If this is what life without a coach looks like, Simona Halep's players box might remain empty for a while longer.
The former world No 1, flying solo this week after ending her brief reunion with coaches Daniel Dobre and Adrian Marcu, was in fine form to defeat American wildcard Alison Riske 6-2, 6-4 and move into the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Halep was beset by injury for large parts of last year and consequently her ranking has tumbled to No 23. But the early signs in 2022, which include a season-opening title in Melbourne and a run to the last 16 at the Australian Open, suggest the Romanian will be back near the top soon enough. Those signs were also on display inside Centre Court on Monday evening.
It no doubt also helps that Dubai has been a happy hunting ground for Halep. She won her 20th WTA Tour title here in 2020 – in the tournament's 20th year no less – five years after her first Dubai title. Unable to defend the trophy last year because of injury, Halep is now on a five-match win streak in the emirate.
So, if there was going to be a tournament to test out going coach-less for the first time, Dubai would likely be high on the list of options for the two-time Grand Slam champion.
"It's special to play here, I have great memories from winning this tournament twice," Halep, 30, said in her on-court interview. "I'm really happy to be fit and play some good tennis."
Play some good tennis, she did. Halep was a class above in the first set and looked on course for a rapid victory when she sealed the opener in 26 minutes. The Romanian broke Riske twice in succession to race into a 5-1 lead, and while the American held for 5-2, Halep comfortably closed out the set.
Halep immediately assumed control of the second set by breaking Riske in the first game and had eight chances to take a 3-0 lead, only for the world No 53 to hold firm. Riske then had two break points of her own in the next game to put the set back on serve, but Halep's formidable serving display pulled her out of trouble.
Riske managed to limit the damage and after shoring up her own serve, the rest of the second set was more competitive. Yet, Halep was impenetrable – landing 76 per cent of her first serves and winning 80 per cent of those points – and the Romanian wrapped up an impressive victory in 71 minutes.
"I felt pretty confident with my serve today, it helped me a lot in important moments," Halep said. "I think the big picture was really good for the first match here. [Riske] is always a tough opponent but I knew how I needed to play and I was focused, I did everything I had to do, and I'm happy to go through."
The sample size may be small but having no coach appears to agree with Halep, who will face either Spanish third seed Paulo Badosa or qualifying compatriot Elena Gabriela Ruse in the second round.
"Well, it's only the first match, so we'll see in the future," she said. "But I can say I enjoy the freedom and I'm looking forward just to focus on my job."
Following Halep on Centre Court, 2013 champion Petra Kvitova shrugged off her frustrating start to the season to demolish Italy's Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-0.
Kvitova, a former world No 2, arrived in Dubai having won just two matches from four tournaments this year but was too strong for world No 29 Giorgi and cruised into the second round in just 68 minutes. The 31-year-old Czech will face either top seeded Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka or Ukrainian qualifier Marta Kostyuk in the second round.
On the opening day, there were also wins for Czech second seed Barbora Krejcikova, who defeated France's Caroline Garcia 6-4, 7-6, Polish sixth seed Iga Swiatek - a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 winner over Russian Daria Kasatkina - and Jessica Pegula after she won an all-American clash against teenager Cori Gauff 6-4, 6-4.
