Simona Halep cruised into round two of the US Open on Tuesday as Marina Erakovic was forced to retire in second set of their first-round encounter.

Halep was rarely troubled at Flushing Meadows as she continued her impressive form on the hard courts, the Romanian firing 11 winners on her way to a 6-2 3-0 victory.

The same could not be said for Erakovic whose game was strewn with errors before her retirement midway through the second set.

Halep was all over her opponent's serve from the start with a break in the first game, before repeating the feat in the seventh.

On her own serve, the second seed was rarely troubled, only dropping four points in the first set as she swiftly moved ahead in 32 minutes.

Erakovic was unable to halt her opponents momentum at the start of the second as Halep's strong hitting saw her take a 3-0 lead.

That was as far as Erakovic could go, though, and Halep was gifted her place in the second round – the world number two looking to improve her performances in the grand slam this year.

Halep has never been past the fourth round at the US Open.