Halep seizes Centre Court chance to open Wimbledon account

Third seed Simona Halep made the most of the Centre Court stage gifted to her in a scheduling change, disposing of her Brazilian opponent Teliana Pereira 6-2, 6-2 in a clinical display on Tuesday.

Runner-up at the French Open last month and a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open in January, Halep called the victory which opened her account at this year's Wimbledon "pretty easy".

The 22-year-old Romanian, who has raced up the rankings over the last year, found out her match against world No.88 Pereira had been shifted to the main show court just an hour before play.

"The court is beautiful. I had a good start to this tournament," she said.

Braving gusty conditions to reach the second round at the All England Club, the Romanian equalled her best past performance at the competition, having also made it beyond the first round last year and in 2011.

This year, though, she said she can progress further.

"Tennis is different on grass but I like to play here. I want to go very far in this tournament," she said. 

Image: Simona Halep of Romania in action during her Ladies' Singles first round match against Teliana Pereira of Brazil on Tuesday

Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images