US Open 2016: Simona Halep wins first full match under roof to reach third round

New York: Romanian fifth seed Simona Halep advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Lucie Safarova on Thursday in the first full match played under a closed roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium.The $150 million retractable roof was installed ahead of this year's tournament and guaranteed there would be at least some action on a muggy and overcast Day Four at the year's final grand slam."It was a little bit (of an adjustment)," Halep said about playing under the roof. "But I had the chance to warm up in the morning before the match.[caption id="attachment_2987230" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Simona Halep shakes hands with Lucie Safarova after beating her. Reuters[/caption]"I don't want to say anything bad because it wasn't bad. Had a nice feeling."It was a great experience to be there. I didn't have to wait for the rain, so that's a good thing."The roof, which has been a huge source of fascination for the Flushing Meadows crowds, was first used on Wednesday when it was put into action in the middle of Rafa Nadal's second-round victory over Andreas Seppi.On a midweek morning session with the roof closed and a sparse crowd sprinkled through the massive stadium, Arthur Ashe had a vacuous, sterile atmosphere.But more importantly, with rain delaying action on the other courts, play went ahead as scheduled on the main court where Halep needed 88 minutes to dismiss an error-prone Safarova, a two-time grand slam doubles champion, who committed a whopping 44 unforced errors.Safarova, who last year reached a career-high number five in the world rankings, represented a tricky second round test for Halep, who wildly flailed her racquet during a first set temper tantrum at 3-3 before going on to break the Czech."Always it's a good match against her. Gives me confidence that I can beat her."Halep will play Hungary's Timea Babos in the third round on Saturday.