Gilles Simon has booked a spot in round two of the Australian Open with a 6-1 6-3 6-4 victory over Robin Haase in Melbourne.
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Haase struggled with unforced errors from the first game, and his difficulty finding a rhythm allowed Simon to break three times in a comfortable opener for the Frenchman.
An improvement from Haase forced Simon to raise his performance level, and the 18th seed punished the Dutchman with a flurry of winners to find another break.
Simon never look troubled on serve in the early stages of the match as he eased to a two-set advantage.
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Haase finally produced a response by finding a break early in the third set, but his own struggles on serve invited more pressure from Simon.
The Frenchman twice broke to love to regain control, and he served out for the match to set up a meeting with Marcel Granollers.
Callum Mulvihill
