Simona Halep won her opening match of the WTA Prague Open on Tuesday, defeating Polona Hercog 6-1, 1-6, 7-6 (7/3) to relaunch a season disrupted for nearly six months by the coronavirus pandemic.
Top seed Halep needed two and a half hours to overcome Slovenian world number 46 Hercog on clay in the Czech capital, blowing six match points in the decider before prevailing in a tie-break.
The second-ranked Halep will meet Barbora Krejcikova in the round of 16.