If anyone was in any doubt about the state of Simona Halep’s left ankle, they got their answer approximately seven minutes into Thursday night’s encounter with Eugenie Bouchard – and it was a comprehensive one too.
The world No.1 had viciously rolled the ankle in question during her first round victory over Destanee Aiava, raising fears about her ability to participate, let alone compete against Bouchard out on Margaret Court Arena.
Those fears extended to Halep herself too, particularly after she had watched the toe-curling footage of her fall.
“I was scared. But the doctor said that I was lucky. After that picture, I was lucky that everything is pretty okay.”
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But with the scores tied at 1-1, 15-15 in the opening set, Halep made “pretty okay” look like an understatement, activating her human backboard mode as she whirred around the court in a blistering 20-shot rally that ended with a sublime strike of her forehand.
Good ankles. Even better angles.
In truth, though, Halep might have been able to replicate the 6-2 6-2 scoreline on just one ankle, such was her superiority against what had been the sole remaining Canadian left in the men’s or women’s singles draws.
Attempting to channel her run to the Australian Open 2014 semifinals, Bouchard was simply unable to exercise sufficient control over her groundstrokes throughout, with a number of her 26 unforced errors overcooked by a distance.
Nor was she ever really able to establish a foothold on her own serve: the world No.112 held just once in the encounter and faced 14 break points in all, a number that was testament to Halep’s movement and defensive prowess.
Bouchard did break twice in the opening set, but never really looked in contention to win it while Halep was converting defence into attack at will.
The Canadian’s solitary hold of serve came at 1-1 in the second set, but Halep responded by pressing down on the accelerator, reeling off five games in a row to cruise into the third round of Australian Open 2018 in just 65 minutes.
Still, Halep revealed afterwards that she had perhaps made things look a little easier than they actually were.
“Well, I still feel pain. Also I couldn't practice much. But during the match, I just forgot about it. I had a very tight tape. I could move,” said the Romanian in her post-match press conference.
“Even if I am a little bit injured, I played very well and I moved very well. I played much better than I expected.
“The most important thing is that I could play my game not thinking about the ankle. I did it great today. I just wanted to play the match and to win it.”
Given her travails, this was perhaps as calm an outing as Halep could have hoped for, although she can expect to be pushed harder in the matches to come.
Still, given what they say about wounded animals, her ankle issues may well turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
“For sure I'm not 100%,” reiterated the world No.1.
“But I feel a little bit more relaxed because I have nothing to lose. I'm just trying to stay focused on my game, nothing else.
“I have nothing to expect [against next opponent Lauren Davis]. I don't know how my foot is going to be. I just want to believe that I have my chance. For sure I will try everything. I'll go on court 100 per cent to win the match.”
