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Halep says she's stronger now despite tough opener

Simona Halep of Romania plays a shot to Evgeniya Rodina of Russia during their women's singles match at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, May 24, 2015. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler

By Julien Pretot PARIS (Reuters) - Last year's runner-up Simona Halep huffed and puffed past Russian Evgeniya Rodina to reach the second round with a 7-5 6-4 win as the French Open began on Sunday, but the Romanian was not concerned by a patchy display. The third seed was never really threatened but let her guard down too many times for comfort against a willing opponent on a sun-drenched court Philippe Chatrier. Halep, the top name in action in the women's draw on day one, broke twice to open a 4-1 lead, only for Rodina to hit back and level at 5-5. The Russian let another service game slip from her hands with a double fault and Halep clinched the set with a drop shot. She broke decisively in the ninth game of the second set and wrapped it up with an ace. "It was a tough match, because it was first round and it is always difficult to start the tournament," Halep, who lost to Russian Maria Sharapova in last year's final, told a news conference. "But she played well. I (made) easy mistakes, but it's normal and I accept that. Next round I will be better, for sure." While most of the focus is on Sharapova and top seed Serena Williams, Halep said she is better-equipped to challenge the big two this year, having grown as a player. "I'm stronger, I think, mentally, and I'm stronger, as well, on court. I feel stronger -- I have a stronger body and I have improved a lot in my game. Serve is better, so I feel more confident now with my game," she explained. She will next face Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who beat her in the third round of the U.S. Open last year. It will be a different story on the Paris clay, though, according to Halep. "I have no good memories from that match, because I didn't play my match. I just was blocked and I couldn't hit the ball," Halep said. "But now I feel much better. I feel that I have my chance. (Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Martyn Herman)