As rewards go, Jarmila Gajdosova probably felt a little cheated: you finally win a match at the Australian Open at the 10th attempt, only to run straight into one of the title contenders.
So it was against Simona Halep, who won their second-round showdown at a canter, 6-2 6-2, on Wednesday night. Gajdosova, so patient against Alexandra Dulgheru, found herself harried and hustled out of the contest in which Halep never let her settle. The world No.3 contained her power and withstood some fine returning to disarm the 27-year-old in 66 minutes. “It was a tough match,” Halep said. “The score didn't show this, but she’s a strong player and served very well. I was concentrating on every point, I fought hard for every point.” The No.3 seed, now coached by fellow Romanian Victor Ionita, spent the off-season working hard to add power and variety to her serve and forehand, adding extra menace to the intrinsic grace and pace at the heart of her game. Her 21 winners, 16 more than the slugger stood opposite, suggest the time was well spent. Gajdosova promised not to be overawed by her opponent – after all, the Australian opened the season with matches against four top-20 players including wins over Andrea Petkovic and Dominika Cibulkova before losing to eventual champion Petra Kvitova in Sydney. Nerves weren’t the issue on Rod Laver Arena, however. Halep simply spent most of the match a step ahead.
