The 2020 champion crushed Alison Riske in the opening match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

On Valentines Day, Simona Halep accepted the "opportunity" to be alone. The previous World No.1 appearances in Dubai are fully aimed at accepting his advisor to a lower position, and on Monday he said something about his 6-2, 6-4 opening win against Alison Riske.

Halep came out in different directions to his longtime mentor Darren Cahill last September, and later parted ways with his short team Daniel Dobre and Adrian Marcu after leaving the Australian Open in the fourth round. The 2015 and 2020 champion told The National before the competition that, despite the difficulties, it currently does not want a mentor.

"I don't have a mentor yet, I have a competitor and he's going with me these days," said Halep. "I did not make choices about training. I do not want a mentor, I use my time alone and I can work effectively.

"I feel very lucky, so I think I should participate in this moment."

One time is that all accounts pay for 30-year-old Halep, who started the season by chasing the title in Melbourne. He wanted 72 minutes to successfully start his Dubai fight, redeeming both break points and looking at two sets.

Despite the unequal scoreline, Halep is expected to bounce somewhere under the second set as Riske No. Down with the set and 2-0, the American saved eight break points to continue playing and after that he hit the ground running in the next game, earning two break chances of his own.

In any case, Halep's unwavering consistency caught Riske under pressure, forcing the American to take up the big gun and constantly bringing in natural flaws. Halep saved both break points to hold on to 3-1, and managed to win after Riske's long journey.

"It's amazing to play here again. I have some good memories here, and winning twice makes it very difficult ... I have a family in the team so I'm very happy to be healthy and play good tennis," Halep said of his time.

"I was engaged to be married, I did everything I had to do, and I'm happy to go through it."

The former world number 1, currently ranked 23rd after the 2021 snake-bitten season where he missed three months of competition due to a calf injury, will next face Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse and the negative. 3 seeds Paula Badosa.