Simona Halep beats Shelby Rogers

Simona Halep said she battled to acclimatise to playing at night, in her US Open third-round win over Shelby Rogers on Saturday.

Second seed Halep broke serve five times in what appeared to be a rudimentary victory for the Romanian star, however, she felt it was anything but due to the conditions.

The latest she had previously played at the US Open was third on court Louis Armstrong Stadium in 2011 - it proved to be a stunning two-set victory over Li Na at the time.

Halep is well and truly familiar with the Arthur Ashe Stadium surroundings - her US Open debut was a tight three-set loss to then-fourth seed Jelena Jankovic on centre court in 2010 - but she said the night air in New York was a new factor.

Halep is every chance to be on at night again in the fourth round, after next opponent Sabine Lisicki was the last off court on Saturday in her thrilling win over Barbora Strycova.

"Actually today I didn't play very well because was first time when I played the night session and I couldn't feel the ball at the beginning of the match," Halep told a news conference.

"It's big difference between night and day.

"So the weather was cooler today and was different.

"But after that I found the rhythm and I started to be aggressive again and to hit the ball. It was good in the end."

Renowned for her all-round court game, Halep said she believes she is more aggressive than tennis pundits give her credit for.

Coming into the year's final major, Halep was second only to Sara Errani in percentage of return points, and games, won on the WTA Tour in 2015.

"I think I'm aggressive. I play aggressive. I like to open the court. I like to take the ball fast. If I do one step behind the baseline, I am lost. It's not easy for me to play from there," Halep explained.

"I try to hit the serve not very strong, but I have good rhythm, I think.

"The return I try to be aggressive, to take it fast and to block it more, and then to move very fast."