May 30 (UPI) -- Defending champion Simona Halep needed a late comeback to move past Poland's Magda Linette for a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 win in the French Open on Thursday.
Halep, 27, led 5-3 in the second set and hoped to close the match before Linette won four straight games to ultimately win that set.
Halap quickly jumped ahead 5-1 in the third set. She dropped the next two games before closing out the match.
Halep blamed her struggles on a stomach bug.
"If I win, it's going to be really good," Halep told reporters. "But if I lose, that's it. I left everything I had today on the court."
Halep is off Friday before facing the winner of a match between Aleksandra Krunić and Lesia Tsurenko on Saturday. Their match was suspended because of darkness and will resume Friday.
"I think I will sleep all day because I think I need that," Halep said. "I have to recover."
