Tennis: Fil-Aussie Lizette Cabrera bows to No. 2 Halep in Australian Open

(UPDATED) Filipino-Australian Lizette Cabrera made an early exit from the Australian Open, as she bowed to world No. 2 Simona Halep of Romania, 6-2, 6-1, in their first round match at the Rod Laver Arena on Monday.

Halep completed her triumph in just 59 minutes to reach the second round and set up a showdown against Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia.

The 23-year-old Cabrera, who was born in Australia to Filipino parents, was a wild card qualifier in the first Grand Slam of the year.

It proved to be a quick appearance for her, however, as Cabrera committed 28 unforced errors and faltered for most of the second set before salvaging a late point on a miscue by Halep.

Halep broke Cabrera twice in the first set then pounced on more erratic play by the Fil-Australian in the second, with four more break points to complete the win in just under an hour.

The Romanian star joins third-seeded Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, both of whom also made flying starts to their Australian Open campaigns, in the second round.

Cabrera is currently ranked 140th in the world.